Oh, yes, and, I know I'm weird, but the fact that Obama is not the first to skip out on the Tomb of the Unkonwn says more about the general quality (or lack thereof) of recent American presidents than it does excuse Obama's not going.
Several have asked whether the Arlington appearance is different from the appearance at some other Memorial Day activity. It's not Arlington that's different, it's the Tomb of the Unknown.
IMNSHO, the Tomb of the Unknown is a different kind of memorial. One that highlights a willingness to serve despite one's anonymity to those being served. When I go to a Memorial Day or similar celebration in my home town, the vets marching in the parade are personally connected to me. So are the people in the cemeteries. I may not know them myself, but my parents or my cousins do. Or I may know their widows or their cousins. At the very least, I'm going to recognize most of their names or recall seeing someone with that name on the street.
But those at the Tomb of the Unknown don't have that connection. No one knows who they were. We only know that they served, they protected, and they died. When a public official goes to the Tomb of Unknown, he or she is making a different statement than merely making another meet-and-greet with little plastic flags and limp handshakes.
And when he fails to make an appearance, he's also making a statement.
The wrong kind.
"Wade" wrote: