Today President Obama delivered a speech at Ft. Bragg, marking the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and honoring the soldiers who sacrificed for the cause of Iraqi freedom.  It was a wonderful speech, full of truth, inspiration, and feel-good catch phrases.  If I had seen it written down and didn't know who delivered it I would have loved it.

Sure, a speech is a speech; and one can argue that the content is important.  Critics could argue only a partisan hack would dislike it because Obama said it.  It was analogous to David Ernest Duke giving a speech on the evils of racism.

I can't get over how Obama is taking credit for everything good that George Bush did or set in motion, and refusing to acknowledge responsibility for anything bad, even things that are obviously the result of his presidency.

As we all remember, Obama was staunchly against the Iraq war.  This isn't to say he was right or wrong, but he certainly opposed it vehemently.  Now, he is extolling the virtue of America ridding the Iraqi people of a sadistic dictator.  That's a fine thing to do, but in order to be honest, he could have included one of the following:

• 1. "As you may remember, I was opposed to the war. I considered it a stupid war and one we should not have undertaken. But we did, and by golly, George Bush was right. Today, standing here, I am proud of what we accomplished."
• 2. "As you may remember, I was opposed to the war. I still think it was a dumb idea. I'm sorry men and women from the US had to leave their homes and go fight a dumb war. At least now we are finished with it, are young men and women are coming home, and we can get back to rebuilding our country."
• 3. "As you may remember, I was opposed to the war. I'm not going to comment on whether we should have been there or not, but it is certainly true that you young men and women of our military did an outstanding job, and you are to be commended for that."

I'm not sure how many other people were affected by his speech in the same way I was, but his pure hypocrisy on the subject ruined an otherwise wonderful -- and truthful -- speech.  Had he said any of the three alternative choices, I would at least have respected his honesty.  Had he given the first one giving George Bush credit, I would have loved the speech.  He still could have been magnanimous, charming, and inspirational, and still could have praised his own policies as important in the success, and accomplished his political goals without being such a hypocrite.

Giving George Bush credit would have gained points with large portions of the American public, but he is loath to give anyone besides himself credit; especially George Bush.  His big chance to admit he was wrong without losing any points passed right by him.  And, in my mind, he firmly enhanced his reputation for hypocrisy, as well as insidious, latent dishonesty.