Dereliction of Duty

On Monday, May 31st, the United States will celebrate Memorial Day. As a country, we have a tradition of holding our military in high esteem. We have experienced an unprecedented amount of freedom and we realize that it is because of our military that we are able to do so. Monday, cemeteries will be decorated, veteran's groups will have ceremonies, and flags will fly at half-staff.

Memorial Day is also a national holiday. Most Americans will be off work to enjoy time with their families, barbeque, and watch baseball and car races. It is good to take a respite from work to refresh the body and the mind and, hopefully, remember the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made for us.

But not everyone will be on vacation. Our first responders will continue to be on the job. I and many of my fellow health care workers will spend the day in the hospital. Even some store clerks, gas station attendants, etc. will be on the job Monday. Most importantly, our active duty military men and women overseas will be at work. Meanwhile, President Obama will be taking a vacation.

Now, I'm not normally one to begrudge our Presidents their vacations. I realize that even the President, especially the President, deserves and needs a vacation. Frankly, I'd rather the President be on vacation rather than out stirring up mischief most of the time. But in taking a vacation on Memorial Day, the President is abdicating his duty.

The President of the United States of America is not only our chief executive, he is also Commander-in-Chief of our military. As Commander-in-Chief, it is his responsibility to order our troops into harm's way. In fact, he has done so by continuing the actions in Iraq and escalating the military presence in Afghanistan. This is an awesome responsibility and the military deserves to know that their Commander-in-Chief supports them and is cognizant of their sacrifice.

That is why it is inexcusable that, when a wreath is laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National cemetery - that monument recognizing the ultimate sacrifice given by generations of soldiers - that it will be Vice-President Biden laying the wreath. .

Oh, sure. I have no doubt that the "Office of the President" will issue a statement commending our military for their sacrifice and lecturing us to do the same. Maybe the President will have even read it before it is issued, but there is a significance in tradition and ceremony - in the military more than in almost any other institution in the country.

There have been other Presidents who have not attended the wreath laying ceremony at Arlington. In 2002, George W. Bush laid a wreath in the American cemetery in Normandy, France. President Reagan only made four of the Memorial Day ceremonies in his 8 years as President - for one of those, he'd just been shot and for two of the others he was at summits, one in Moscow and the other with leaders of democracies in Williamsburg, VA. The fourth, he was on vacation. George H.W. Bush took Memorial Day for vacation every year. So yes, I fault them for vacationing during this time, as well.

As a President and leader of a party which is seen by a significant segment of the American population as, at best, ambivalent about the military and, at worst, anti-military, it is especially important that Obama take steps to demonstrate that he does, in fact, support the military.

The President can pretty much set his own schedule. Why not take a three day weekend next weekend? Why not last weekend? Heck, take three days in the middle of the week. But the President needs to be at Arlington on Memorial Day.