Is President Obama the most flippant President in history? Allow me to explain:
Last year, 30 members of the military were killed in a helicopter crash over Afghanistan. It came to light in a forum yesterday that President Obama sent form letters, signed by an autopen, expressing sympathy for the families loss.
Remember in 2004, during the Bush administration when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld got caught using an electronic pen to sign condolence letters? It became a national news story and Rumsfeld allegedly quit doing so after the practice came to light.
As the President of the United States, it is even more callous to sign condolence letters with an autopen. It's one thing to sign letters to donors, direct mail, thank you cards, etc. with an autopen or e-signature. It's quite another to send one to the families of those who lost their loved ones fighting the Presidents' war.
This story should be on the front page of every newspaper in the country, but it likely won't be. The President has made a decision to send our military into harms way, he ought to at least have the decency to personally sign a form letter for the deceased.
It would seem that President Obama has a fondness for pushing the boundaries on the use of an autopen. Remember when he used an autopen to sign "Patriot" Act extensions into law? There's still a strong argument that the President did not meet the constitutional standards of having the law "presented" to him, even if a court would uphold the constitutionality of authorizing the use of an autopen for legislation.
For these, and a host of other reasons I submit to you that President Obama is indeed the most flippant President ever to preside in the Oval Office.
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