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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It?
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To: jlallen who wrote (1113)1/6/2005 3:01:59 PM
From: cirrus  Read Replies (1) of 224706
 
A letter of condolence is a formality and used in just about any instance... normal airplane crashes, minor disasters... any unfortunate event.

It became apparent within 24 hours of the tsunami that this was a major event involving many countries and thousands dead.

At that point custom calls for the president to personally speak out... as Reagan did so eloquently after Challenger, and as Bush did after the September 11th attacks the Columbia accident, the beginning of the Iraqi war and at other times.

The words themselves do nothing material, but when the President speaks the world listens. His words have a huge pyscological impact... as does his silence. In this case, the President's silence was unsettling, as was the initial $15 million aid announcement.

Both the aid and Presidential statement issues were rectified in short order so the issue is essentially moot.

You believe the President's initial response was adequate. I, as do others, feel an earlier statement would have been well received, particularly since America's reputation in the world is at a low point.

It has been said that the President is not a "grandstander", which is true, but sometimes a little "grandstanding" is not a bad thing.

I do remember watching the news at one point, day two or about then, and saying to my wife... "Why hasn't the President spoken on this? It's huge!"

I respect your opinion and don't think the President's initial silence was intentional or indicative of a lack of concern on his part... events were moving quickly. I suspect if he were in the White House with a full crew on a regular non-holiday workday the situation would have been handled differently.
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