ME ME ME ME ME ME MEEEEEEEEEE

The words we use speak volumes about our character.

Here is a synopsis of Obama's speech on UBL, May 2, 2011:

“Tonight, ~I~ can report . . . And so shortly after taking office, ~I~ directed Leon Panetta . . . ~I~ was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden . . . ~I~ met repeatedly with ++my++ national security team . . . ~I~ determined that we had enough intelligence to take action. . . . Today, at ++my++ direction . . . ~I~’ve made clear . .. . Over the years, ~I’ve~  repeatedly made clear . . . Tonight, ~I~ called President Zardari . . . and ++my++ team has also spoken. . .These efforts weigh on ++me++ every time ~I~, as Commander-in-Chief . . . Finally, let ++me++ say to the families . .. ~I~ know that it has, at times, frayed. . . ..”

~I~ = 10

++me++ = 2

++my++ = 3

Compare that with the speech given by George W. Bush on December 14, 2003 upon the capture of Saddam Hussein.

"Good afternoon. Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m., Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive.

He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions.

The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq.

It marks the end of the road for him, and for all who bullied and killed in his name. For the Baathist holdouts largely responsible for the current violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held.

For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.

And this afternoon, ++I++ have a message for the Iraqi people: You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again.

All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side.

The goals of our coalition are the same as your goals -- sovereignty for your country, dignity for your great culture, and for every Iraqi citizen, the opportunity for a better life.

In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived.

All Iraqis can now come together and reject violence and build a new Iraq.

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq.

The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country.

The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force.

Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people.

Their work continues, and so do the risks.

Today, on behalf of the nation, ++I++ thank the members of our armed forces and ++I++ congratulate 'em.

++I++ also have a message for all Americans: the capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq.

We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the middle east.

Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.

We've come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward.

The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory.

Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty.  And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won.

May god bless the people of Iraq, and may god bless America.  Thank you."

~~I~~ = 4

President Bush's speech is completely outwardly directed.  In his entire speech, President Bush used “I” only four times, and never to take credit (he did not use ‘me’ even once).

President Bush speaks of the momentous occasion and gives all the credit to the military and the intelligence community.  There is no attempt to highlight his part in the story.

Completely the opposite, President Obama grabs all the credit he can whenever he can. In only a small section of his speech, President Obama used the first person 15 times, and in every case, it’s was always about him. He does so not only for political grandstanding, but at a deeper level because he is compensating for his well-deserved insecurities. Unfortunately, it’s painfully obvious that we now have a childish, self-aggrandizing narcissist residing in the White House.

Quite a contrast.  But it gets better…..

Below is the transcript of President Obama’s speech at the CIA on Friday, May 20, 2011.  He used the word ‘I’ 37 times in this brief speech.  I took the transcript from http://www.whitehouse.gov/ .  It is almost as if the beginning and the ending of this speech was written by one person, and the middle was written by another…..

PANETTA [introducing Obama]:  Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce the President of the United States.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Thank you all.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you very much, everybody.  Well, thank you, Leon, and thank you, Jim [Clapper].

When ~~~I~~~ chose Leon Panetta as Director of the CIA, ~~~I~~~ said he was going to be a strong advocate for this agency and would strengthen your capabilities to meet the threats of our time.  And when ~~~I~~~ chose Jim Clapper as Director of National Intelligence, ~~~I~~~ charged him with making sure that our intelligence community works as one integrated team.  That’s exactly what these two leaders have done, along with all of you.

 So, Jim and Leon, thank you for your remarkable leadership, not just in recent weeks, but during the entirety of your tenure.  You have done a great job.  (Applause.)

This is ++my++ third visit here to Langley as President, and each of these visits has marked another milestone in our mission to protect the American people and keep our country safe.

On ++my++ first visit, just months after taking office, ~~~I~~~ stood here and ~~~I~~~ said that this agency and our entire intelligence community is fundamental to America’s national security.  ~~~I~~~ said that ~~~I~~~ believed that your best days were still to come and ~~~I~~~ pledged that you would have ++my++ full support to carry out your critical work.

Soon after that visit, ~~~I~~~ called Leon into the Oval Office and ~~~I~~~ directed him to make the killing or capture of Osama bin Laden the top priority in our war to defeat al Qaeda.  And he came back here, and you guys, who had already been working so hard on this issue, redoubled your efforts.  And that was true all across the intelligence community.

++My++ second visit, a year later, came under more somber circumstances.  We gathered to pay tribute to seven American patriots who gave their lives in this fight at a remote post in Afghanistan.  As has already been mentioned, their stars now grace this memorial wall.  And through our grief and our tears, we resolved that their sacrifice would be our summons to carry on their work, to complete this mission, to win this war.

Today ~~~I’ve ~~~ returned just to say thank you, on behalf of all Americans and people around the world, because you carried on.  You stayed focused on your mission.  You honored the memory of your fallen colleagues.  And in helping to locate and take down Osama bin Laden, you made it possible for us to achieve the most significant victory yet in our war to defeat al Qaeda.

~~~I~~~ just met with some of the outstanding leaders and teams from across the community who worked so long and so hard to make that raid a success.  And ~~~I’m~~~ pleased today that we’re joined by representatives from all of our intelligence agencies, and that folks are watching this live back at all of those agencies, because this truly was a team effort.  That’s not always the case in Washington.  (Laughter.)  But all of you work together every single day.

This is one of the few times when all these leaders and organizations have the occasion to appear together publicly.  And so ~~~I~~~ thank all of you for coming -- because ~~~I~~~ think it’s so important for the American people to see all of you here today.

Part of the challenge of intelligence work is, by necessity, your work has to remain secret.  ~~~I~~~ know that carries a heavy burden.  You’re often the first ones to get the blame when things go wrong, and you’re always the last ones to get the credit when things go right.  So when things do go right -- and they do more often than the world will ever know -- we ought to celebrate your success.

That’s why ~~~I~~~ came here.  ~~~I~~~ wanted every single one of you to know, whether you work at the CIA or across the community, at every step of our effort to take out bin Laden, the work you did and the quality of the intelligence that you provided made the critical difference -- to ++me++, to our team on those helicopters, to our nation.  

After ~~~I~~~ directed that getting bin Laden be the priority, you hunkered down even more, building on years of painstaking work; pulling together, in some cases, the slenderest of intelligence streams, running those threads to ground until you found that courier and you tracked him to that compound.  And when ~~~I~~~ was briefed last summer, you had built the strongest intelligence case against -- in terms of where bin Laden was since Tora Bora.

In the months that followed, including all those meetings in the Situation Room, we did what sound intelligence demands:  We pushed for more collection.  We pushed for more evidence.  We questioned our assumptions.  You strengthened your analysis.  You didn’t bite your tongue and try to spin the ball, but you gave it to ++me++ straight each and every time.

And we did something really remarkable in Washington -- we kept it a secret.  (Laughter and applause.)  That’s how it should be.

Of course, when the time came to actually make the decision, we didn’t know for sure that bin Laden was there.  The evidence was circumstantial and the risks, especially to the lives of our special operations forces, were huge.  And ~~~I~~~ knew that the consequences of failure could be enormous.  But ~~~I~~~ made the decision that ~~~I~~~ did because ~~~I~~~ had absolute confidence in the skill of our military personnel and ~~~I~~~ had confidence in you.  ~~~I~~~ put ++my++ bet on you.  And now the whole world knows that that faith in you was justified.

So just as impressive as what you did was how you did it.  It was a tribute to your perseverance, your relentless focus and determination over many years.  For the fight against al Qaeda did not begin on 9/11.  

Among you are veterans who’ve been pursuing these murderers for many years, even before they attacked our embassies in Africa and struck the Cole in Yemen.  Among you are young men and women for whom 9/11 was a call to service.  This fight has defined your generation.  And on this wall are stars honoring all your colleagues and friends, more than a dozen who have given their lives in the fight against al Qaeda and its violent allies.

As the years wore on, others began to think that this terrorist might never be brought to justice.  But you never quit.  You never gave up.  You pulled together across this agency and across the community.

No one piece of information and no one agency made this possible.  You did it together -- CIA, National Security Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, everyone at ODNI and the National Counterterrorism Center.  [ edit. note:  should he really have enumerated all these agencies?]  Folks across the country, civilian and military, so many of you here today.

And that’s exactly how our intelligence community is supposed to work, using every capability -- human, technical -- collecting, analyzing, sharing, integrating intelligence, and then acting on it.

That’s what made this one of the greatest intelligence successes in American history, and that’s why intelligence professionals are going to study and be inspired by your achievement for generations to come.

Now, make no mistake -- this is not over.  Because we not only took out the symbol and operational leader of al Qaeda, we walked off with his files -- (laughter) -- the largest treasure trove of intelligence ever seized from a terrorist leader.  Many of you now are working around the clock; you didn’t have much time to celebrate.  We’ve got to analyze and evaluate and exploit this mountain of intelligence.

So today, every terrorist in the al Qaeda network should be watching their back, because we’re going to review every video, we are going to examine every photo, we’re going to read every one of those millions of pages, we’re going to pursue every lead.  We are going to go wherever it takes us.  We’re going to finish the job.  We are going to defeat al Qaeda.

Even as we stay focused on this mission, we need you to stay nimble and flexible to meet the full range of threats to our security, from plots against our homeland to nations seeking weapons of mass destruction to transnational threats such as cyber criminals and narco-traffickers.

So ~~~I’m~~~ going to keep relying on you -- for your intelligence, the analysis that comes across ++my++ desk every single day.  And 300-plus Americans are counting on you to stay a step ahead of our adversaries and to keep our country safe.

~~~I~~~ have never been more proud or more confident in you than ~~~I~~~ am today -- not just because this extraordinary success, but because it reminds us of who we are as a people and as a nation.  You reminded us that when we Americans set our mind to something, when we are focused and when we are working together, when we’re not worried about who’s getting the credit and when we stay true to our values, even if it takes years, there is nothing we cannot do.

That’s why ~~~I~~~ still believe in what ~~~I~~~ said ++my++ first visit here two years ago:  Your greatest days are still to come.  And if any of you doubt what this means, ~~~I~~~ wish ~~~I~~~ could have taken some of you on the trip ~~~I~~~ made to New York City, where we laid a wreath at Ground Zero, and ~~~I~~~ had a chance to meet firefighters who had lost an entire shift; police officers who had lost their comrades; a young woman, 14 years old, who had written to ++me++ because her last memory of her father was talking to him on the phone while her mother wept beside her, right before they watched the tower go down.

And she and other members of families of 9/11 victims talked about what this meant.  It meant that their suffering had not been forgotten, and that the American community stands with them, that we stand with each other.

So most of you will never get headlines for the work that you do.  You won’t get ticker-tape parades.  But as you go about your work with incredible diligence and dedication every single day, ~~~I~~~ hope all of you understand how important it is, how grateful ~~~I~~~ am, and that you have the thanks of a grateful nation.

God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

~~~I~~~  =  37

++my++ = 6

++me++ = 3