West Point Cadets Give Obama ‘Icy’ Reception At West Point Address
President Obama delivered the commencement speech to graduates at the United States Military Academy at West Point today, but he enjoyed a decidedly tepid response from cadets.
According to multiple media outlets covering the President’s address, which offered a muddled foreign policy message mixed with a dollop of global warming caution, only about one-fourth of the seated cadets rose to greet Obama with a standing ovation when he was introduced.
“[It was] a speech that, probably, was not really a great speech to give at the U.S. Military Academy,” said CNN international correspondent Jim Clancy. “It was a philosophical speech. It was not a Commander-in-Chief speaking to his troops. And you heard the reception. I mean, it was pretty icy.”
Obama recast the doctrine of American exceptionalism in terms of global teamwork. “I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being,” he said. “But what makes us exceptional is not our ability to flout international norms and the rule of law; it’s our willingness to affirm them through our actions.”
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