Barack Obama in Kabul: Not Quite Henry V at Agincourt ...

...Barack slips away to Afghanistan, and a familiar thrill runs up the leg of a familiar idiot:

Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball," raved about a speech President Obama made to American troops during his surprise visit to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

 "I imagine being a soldier over there -- this is what you want to hear," Matthews said, as if he was wearing military fatigues.

 Matthews also likened the leadership of President Obama to that of Henry V of England. "It was right out of Henry V actually, a touch of Barry, in this case, in the night for those soldiers risking their lives over there," Matthews said.

"Well that's great stuff. I was so proud of the President there, I must say....," Chris Matthews gushed on his program today.


Let's review a bit of young Henry V's speech prior to the battle of Agincourt - a battle which the young king fought at the head of his troops, incidentally:

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead...


And you, good yeoman, Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'


And here's Barack Obama at Kabul:

As we move forward, some people will ask why we need a firm timeline. The answer is clear: our goal is not to build a country in America’s image, or to eradicate every vestige of the Taliban. These objectives would require many more years, many more dollars, and many more American lives.

I recognize that many Americans are tired of war...I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security...

Last year, we removed 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Another 23,000 will leave by the end of the summer. After that, reductions will continue at a steady pace, with more of our troops coming home. And as our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.



Shoot, Obama at Kabul isn't even the equal of the speech given by Aragorn, son of  Arathorn, king of Gondor in exile, as he led the last of his remaining men into battle against the forces of Mordor at the Black Gate:

Hold your ground! Hold your ground!

Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers, I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship,
but it is not this day. 

An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! 
This day we fight! 
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, 
I bid you stand, Men of the West!


Worth watching, if only to see how a man, and a true leader, addresses his troops: