President Obama Addressed Fiscal Policy During Navy Yard Shooting … So What?

President Obama chose to defend his fiscal policy and attack Republicans while innocent victims were being gunned down in the recent Navy Yard shooting. Obama did address the tragic event at the top of his speech, acknowledging that the tragedy was a cowardly act that would be fully investigated by federal and local law enforcement.

Following his speech critics attacked Obama for what they believe was a lack of concern for the victims of Navy Yard victims. In an Op-Ed on the New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd blasted the President for pushing his own agenda during a national moment of mourning as 12 people were gunned down. Dowd writes:

“He could have posted his original remarks on the White House Web site and replaced them with a cri de coeur on gun control, or comfort for the shaken city. The 12 who died were, after all, under his aegis as workers in a federal building.”

She continues:

“But, jarringly, the president went ahead with his political attack, briefly addressing the slaughter before moving on to jab Republicans over the corporate tax rate and resistance to Obamacare.”

Down then declared:

“The man who connected so electrically and facilely in 2008, causing Americans to overlook his thin résumé, cannot seem to connect anymore.”

This is what critics have gravitated towards. Yes 12 people were tragically and senselessly gunned down, and yes CNN, FOX News, and other networks attempted to speculate on the shooting for days without any actual proof or credible sources. But honestly what was President Obama supposed to do? Perhaps he could have shut down the entire political system for the entire day. He could have even put on CSI clothing and headed to the crime scene on his own.

The Navy Yard shooting was not believed to be the act of terrorists, although news networks “speculated” on that scenario while magically increasing the number of “suspected shooters.”

MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ host Joe Scarborough chimed in:

“On the day while people were hiding, while people were bleeding, while people were dying, while the nation was locked in on this – he’s talking about harsh partisanship and Republicans wanting to hurt people.”

Perhaps Joe and Dowd, and others need to get off their elitist asses and realize that people are dying, bleeding and scared every day in America. The homeless, those unfortunate enough to grow up in ghettos, there is no lack of fear and loathing in America.

President Obama’s criticism is odd considering that many people have been angered by the media coverage given to killers. On The Inquisitr Facebook page we have received comments in the past about attention we have given to killers. During one post thousands of Facebook users complained that killers shouldn’t be given any media coverage at all. Yet, when President Obama acknowledges a tragic situation and then moves on we have thousands of critics attacking the lack of focus given to a killer.

Perhaps as much focus should be given to Republican lawmakers who attempted to capitalize on Obama’s quick response. House Speaker John Boehner calling his speech a ‘shame” but he offered very little insight of his own. The poke and prod method is growing old and attacking for the sake of attacking is just as bad as mentioning a tragedy and moving on.

Obama on Tuesday explained his actions. Speaking to Telemundo he remarked:

“I think that everybody understands that the minute something like this happens, I’m in touch with the FBI, I’m in touch with my national security team, we’re making sure that all the assets are out there for us to deal with this as well as we can. What is also important to remember is that Congress has a lot of work to do right now.’

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney also chimed in:

“The president spoke about the Navy Yard at the very top of his briefing,’ he said. ‘He talked about the cowardly act that had taken place, the tragedy that was unfolding and the loss of life and he called for and demanded a seamless investigation with federal and local law enforcement officials and that is what we’re seeing now.”

Critics have called Obama’s response “tone deaf” and “out of touch” and those are the kind remarks. Those are the same critics who don’t deal on a daily basis with fiscal policy, several wars around the world, a political system that refuses to engage in bipartisan discussions, and much more.

Military officials are still investigating a shooting that occurred at a military facility. President Obama put that investigation in their capable hands because they understand the military atmosphere better than he does.

I don’t want a Commander In Chief who holds everyones hand. I want the POTUS to be really good at delegating a lot of tasks to more capable people who he helped put into office.