President Obama spoke during the memorial service for the five police officers who were slain last week during a protest.
As is his nature, Obama’s remarks quickly turned political. At one point he said: “None of us is entirely innocent” when it comes to prejudice, and “that includes our police departments.”
He said this while standing in front of police officers — at a memorial for slain police officers.
Obama also talked about slavery and racial discrimination, before starting in on gun control. The president claimed it was “easier for a teenager to get his hands on a Glock than a computer … or even a book!”
Setting aside the obvious falseness of that statement, is the memorial service for murdered police officers really the place to be discussing politics? Imagine being the family of one of those slain officers, and hearing the president of the United States indicate there’s racism in police departments and talking about gun control.
By contrast, former President George W. Bush’s remarks were brief and focused on the fallen. The closest thing to a political comment was when he said: “Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions.”
And that was actually his best line, not just because he wasn’t trying to push his agenda, but because of how true it rings.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
