“Bob, this is not in the program, but I would ask you to, please, stand. As president the highest honor I can bestow on a civilian is the Presidential Medal of Freedom … Today it is my great privilege to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to America’s 22nd Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates.”
These were the words of U.S. President Barack Obama at a farewell ceremony that saw off Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The ceremony was held on June 30 at the Pentagon’s River Terrace Parade Field. At the farewell ceremony, President Obama presented an unsuspecting Secretary Gates with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Why would “change” advocate President Obama place his trust in Gates, a “figure of an old era,” and an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush? President Obama’s reasons were expressed in the speech he gave for the occasion.
“When I took office, Bob Gates had already served under seven presidents during an illustrious career that spanned four decades,” Obama said. “When asked by a reporter whether he might stay on to serve an eighth president, he offered the answer ‘inconceivable’… I’ve seen this man in those moments of debate and decision when a person’s character is revealed — in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room, in the theaters of war… Bob, today you’re not only one of the longest-serving Secretaries of Defense in American history, but it is also clear that you’ve been one of the best.”
Although Obama criticized the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan initiated under Bush, he did not opt to change their commanders. He also did not hesitate in appointing Gates as the Secretary of Defense.
Nor was he modest in his praise of Gates. For Obama, the Secretary of Defense is “a man that I’ve come to know and respect… a humble American patriot,” as well as “a man of common sense and decency.” The president also asserted that Gates was “one of our nation’s finest public servants.”
So that he could attend the ceremony, the president even postponed the work he usually receives from the White House staff at 9:30 every morning until 11:00 A.M. The previous day, he and First Lady Michelle Obama invited Mr. and Mrs. Gates to dine with them at the White House. From the moment of arrival until his departure at the end of the ceremony, President Obama stood by Secretary Gates’ side. Obama also frequently made eye contact with Gates in a display of confidence.
Obama also rose from his seat and applauded in the standing ovation at the end of the ceremony. The audience was compelled to extend its applause by the president’s example. It was almost to the degree that spectators could confuse which man was president and which his cabinet member.
Observing Obama’s warm send-off of “Bush Man” Gates sheds light on why Hillary Clinton was appointed as the Secretary of State. Although animosity between the two ran deep in the fight for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, Obama embraced his former rival as a “comrade” after winning the election. It was also Obama’s high-minded decision to reappoint loyal Republican Robert Gates.
Perhaps it was President Obama’s self-confidence that allowed him to entrust the opposing Departments of Defense and State to these two figures. This marks a large contrast with the Korean government, where ministers and even their deputies must pack their bags and leave with the arrival of a new administration. Watching the ceremony unfold that day in front of the Pentagon, I stood in envy of President Obama’s magnanimous leadership.
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