William Kristol Drops the Other Shoe for Hillary

When Hillary the other day unfortunately–and unintentionally, she says–intimated that she is staying in the presidential race at least until June because, you never know, “something” could happen, I am sure she never counted on Conservative Fox contributor William Kristol to be the one that would “drop the other shoe” on Obama.

While the “shoe” was not exactly as big as Hillary may have been hoping for, the once-a-week New York Times Op-Ed contributor, William Kristol, did drop the other shoe on Obama this morning.

You see, Obama–standing in for Ted Kennedy–gave a terrific commencement speech at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., a week ago Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Apparently, Kristol could not get to his computer fast enough last Sunday to get his critique of Obama’s speech in his once-a-week column in the Times a week ago Monday.

But don’t worry, in his much awaited column that appeared this morning, he made up for the delay and really let Obama have it, and in doing so dropped the much awaited “other shoe“ for Hillary.

In his column, titled “What Obama Left Out,” Kristol drops the bomb shell–the other shoe. This is the low-down: Although in his stirring commencement speech Obama exhorted the Wesleyan undergraduates to change the country and the world through public service, apparently Obama did not specifically mention military service.

It doesn’t matter that Obama said, in part, “Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in America’s story.” It doesn’t matter that “something larger than yourself” could be serving your country in the military; Obama did not specifically mention “military service.”

It doesn’t matter that military service is probably the highest and most honorable form of public service; Obama did not specifically mention “military service.”

According to Kristol, not mentioning military service specifically, is “Obama‘s sin of omission,” and thus “Obama failed to challenge–even gently–what he must have assumed would be the prejudices of much of his audience and indulged in a soft patriotism of low expectations. “

Wow! These are powerful words about what “Obama Left Out.” This has to be the other shoe, and I am sure that “What Obama Left Out” will end up on Fox’s endless loop. But wait, how can something Obama didn’t say end up on the “endless loop?” I am sure Fox will figure a way.

But speaking about what Obama failed to mention, I wonder if Mr. Kristol will write in his much awaited once-a-week column about some of the things president Bush has failed to mention, has “left out.“

One or two things come to mind right away. The truth about why we went to war in Iraq. The truth about torture. The truth about warrantless eavesdropping on Americans. The truth about outed CIA operative Valerie Plame. The truth about the fired U.S. Attorneys.

I am sure there are more, many more. But I won’t hold my breath.

By the way, Mr. Kristol, I did twenty years of public service for my country. It just happened to be in the military.