Because he's the President. Once he realized he wasn't going to make the funeral, he should have signed the book. He could have done it on the way to the golf course, right after stopping for donuts for all I care.
Because he's the President. Once he realized he wasn't going to make the funeral, he should have signed the book. He could have done it on the way to the golf course, right after stopping for donuts for all I care.
Avowed Contrarian / Occasional Jingoist / Politically Incorrect
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“The world seems full of good men, even if there are monsters in it.” -- Bram Stoker
This truly should win an award
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
As stated earlier Biden signed the book as well as Clinton. Also stated earlier the vice president fills in as representative for the POTUS.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/vice-president3.htmThe vice president may receive foreign dignitaries -- a customary role of the executive branch -- and host state dinners. The vice president may also travel in the president's stead, to meet with foreign counterparts or attend state funerals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_Pr..._United_StatesIn 1969, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey would have announced the election of his opponent, Richard Nixon; however, on the date of the Congressional joint session (January 6), Humphrey was in Norway attending the funeral of Trygve Lie, the first elected Secretary-General of the United Nations[8].
In the above example the then current Vice President of The United States was attending a funeral in Norway. Obama could have designated Biden to take his place for the President of Poland's funeral. Obama was going to go himself but at the last minute was not able to make it due to circumstances even beyond his control. Therefore Biden's signature in the condolences book should be and is sufficient. It is not necessary to have the president and vice president both sign the book. With Clinton signing the condolences book I would say the United States was well represented in expressing our condolences as a country.
I've read each and every post in this thread and as far as I am concerned in my opinion Obama did not have to sign the book. Done.
dump this puppy into purgatory
"The only thing that we learn from torture is the depths of our own moral depravity"
yup