Obama Pays Christmas Visit to Hawaii Marine Base

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

Obama pays Christmas visit to Hawaii Marine base
Sat Dec 25, 2010 10:36pm EST

HONOLULU (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle took time from their Hawaii vacation to drop by a Marine Corps base on Saturday, where they greeted service men and women during Christmas dinner.

Obama, who has otherwise kept a low profile during the 11-day family holiday and stayed almost completely out of public view, visited the same base last year and the year before on Christmas Day.

The president and first lady shook hands, posed for pictures, admired babies and chatted with Marines and their families in the mess hall decked out in Christmas decorations for about 40 minutes.

"Did you get everything you wanted?" Obama asked one little girl, who brandished a bracelet, prompting the president to point out a presumably new bracelet on Michelle's wrist.

Read more: http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BP04720101226?ca=rdt

[Skittles]

1. must be tough being a Marine in.......Hawaii

JUST KIDDING; it was a lovely gesture

[Renew Deal]

2. Depends on the day

[freshwest]

3. Since it's in B & W, that's the attack on Pearl Harbor, right?

Just wanted to be sure. I've never seen a still of that event.

[lunatica]

7. That photo is incredibly amazing

What a horror it must have been to be there! That day changed the world as did the last day of that war.

[eomer]

4. That's an interesting choice by Obama.

Before seeing this OP, I had just finished writing a Facebook status asking what Jesus would want us to spend our resources on, war or helping people (to distill it down).

I didn't know, until now, that Obama chooses each year to do a PR event on Christmas day with a military theme. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to do a PR event on Christmas day about helping people who desperately need our help?

[Edith Ann]

5. Photo op

I think he does that on Thanksgiving.

[eomer]

6. True, he does do that on Thanksgiving.

A military theme on Christmas day still seems inappropriate to me.

[MadMaddie]

8. Our military men and women don't deserve a greeting from the

President. He is not promoting war he is stopping by to say that he and Michelle care about the military and their families.

Our military men and women are predominantly American citizens and it is okay to recognize them too.

[eomer]

9. Some other day.

Peace on Earth must be the most common Christmas card message that I've seen. I don't recall ever seeing one in the drugstore with soldiers on it.

Why not recognize soldiers on some other day? Maybe we could have a special day and call it, say, Memorial Day or Veterans' Day, or we could even have both.

Let Christmas day be about Peace.

[CTyankee]

10. Visiting service men and women on a U.S. base isn't an endorsement of war, IMO.

Some of these people are away from home on Christmas. It's nice to have their President visit them and talk to their families...it's not like he's visiting them in a war zone. And I notice they aren't wearing uniforms...