I hope that Sgt. Cory Remsburg enjoys his accolades

[fadedrose]

at the SOTU before he is bothered by what he reads. Talk like this is ugly, not true, because it was so well-deserved, both parties applauded except for those who would applaud only if the President dropped dead on the platform.....so I am discounting some remarks from them.

Let's not allow his feeling to be hurt, or those of his precious father.

[giftedgirl77]

1. His rank is SFC, and I agree 100%.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. The countdown to the usual suspects calling you a fascist starts now

I don't suspect it will take very long, unfortunately. They have only one playbook.

[DreamGypsy]

3. The New Yorker has what I think is a reasonable analysis...

...by John Cassidy: The President and the Ranger - The Meaning of Cory Remsburg

<big, big snip>

On one level, of course, it was a political ploy—a fiendishly effective way to leave us with something else to talk about than an embattled President defending his policies and seeking to turn the conversation from whether he’s a lame duck. But it was also something bigger and more justifiable. Obama’s speechwriters and spinmeisters didn’t pull Remsburg’s name from a hat. A 2013 piece in the Times reported that the President had met him twice since the D Day celebrations—once at a military hospital near Washington and then at a high school in Phoenix. This was their fourth encounter.

Ever since he ran for President, in 2008, Obama’s underlying message has been that too much of what happens in Washington is an insiders’ game that ignores, and often tramples upon, the wishes and interests of ordinary Americans. By inviting Remsburg—and DeMars and Shelley, too—Obama was taking part in what’s now a traditional ritual for speech-givers. But he was also trying to bridge the gaping chasm between politics and political decision-making as experienced by its practitioners in the nation’s capital and by the grunts out there in the factories, offices, and Army battalions.

He was also invoking the concept of public service, which, in Washington these days, is routinely subjugated to partisan advantage. And, finally, he was saying that we can do better, and we know we can—just look at this young man.

“None of it is easy,” Obama said. “But if we work together; if we summon what is best in us, the way Cory summoned what is best in him, with our feet planted firmly in today but our eyes cast toward tomorrow, I know it’s within our reach.” In a bitterly divided chamber, and a bitterly divided country, it was a fanciful vision to end the speech with. For a moment, though, you got the sense that even the President’s foes gathered before him couldn’t have disagreed with his sentiments.

A little compromise doesn't seem like a big deal compared the hardship that many go through, just to survive.

[fadedrose]

4. Nobody commented on how

appreciative Cory is of the attention. He appreciated every gesture from Michelle, the President and everyone there. He expects nothing and is full of love.

How could ANYONE ANYWHERE say "a political ploy?", without his conscience eating through their brain?

The President did not do it in the way that they ask you to contribute to homeless dogs and cats with tearful music ...he was upbeat, very matter-of-fact, as though it was a very natural thing to do, without being distraught as most of the audience.

Were it my job to present Cory, I would have messed it up with a Puffs and my voice breaking up, too dismal, or too flamboyant as tho it was a plug for me.