Good for Obama
I thought the president did well in his press conference last night, but I was especially taken by his answer to the awkward question of what “enchanted” him about his first 100 days in office: Enchanted? (Laughter.) Enchanted. I — I will — I will tell you that, when I — when I meet our ...
I thought the president did well in his press conference last night, but I was especially taken by his answer to the awkward question of what “enchanted” him about his first 100 days in office:
Enchanted? (Laughter.) Enchanted. I — I will — I will tell you that, when I — when I meet our servicemen and -women, enchanted’s probably not the word I would use. (Laughter.) But — but — but I — but I am — I am so profoundly impressed and grateful to them for what they do. They’re really good at their job. They are willing to make extraordinary sacrifices on our behalf. They do so without complaint. They are fiercely loyal to this country.
And, you know, the more I interact with our — our servicemen and — women, from the top brass down to the lowliest private, I — I’m just — I’m grateful to them.”
It didn’t make headlines, but it was well said. Obama is not a military natural. But this struck me as from the heart. And I liked his phrase “fiercely loyal,” which should warm Scottish-Irish hearts all over. Sure, he’s an impressive politician, but he didn’t have to go to the military in answering this.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
More from Foreign Policy


At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.


How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.


What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.


Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.