Our country needs more Nikki Haley, less Barack Obama

Yeah, neither do I. Because it didn’t happen.

Elected officials have a choice to make in the wake of tragedies, be they national or local in scope, and that is whether to be a leader or an agitator.

Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina, chose to lead.

Barack Obama, president of the United States, chose to agitate.

Of course.

After all, it was Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s own former chief of staff — and current mayor of crime-addled Chicago — who uttered these now-infamous words:

You never let a serious crisis go to waste.

To us regular folk, it’s a no brainer. There are people — family, friends, strangers — feeling intense grief and confusion about an event that makes no sense. They need to be comforted, to feel even the smallest amount of hope that things will be alright, that justice will be served. The last thing they need is the politicization of their personal tragedy.

But when we needed him to step up and be our Comforter-in-Chief, President Obama chose instead to be Agitator-in-Chief:

I’ve had to make statements like these too many times. Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times. We don’t have all the facts but we do know that once again innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. Now is the time for mourning and for healing. But let’s be clear. At some point we as a country we’ll have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass-violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency.

To paraphrase a friend on Twitter, I’m sure the Jews in France will be comforted by this.

Gun control? Check. But, wait, where’s the race card? Oh, wait, right here:

Hatred across races and faiths poses a particular threat to our ideals and democracy.

The fact this took place in a black church raises questions about a dark part of our history.

Stoking the flames of discontent and anger was clearly higher on Obama’s agenda than was being a true comfort to a community in pain.

The United States has a great tradition of presidents consoling a grieving nation, such as President Reagan after the Challenger explosion, President Bush after the 9/11 attacks, and even President Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing.

Was it too much to ask Obama to do the same and show some actual compassion? Perhaps this tragedy isn’t on the same scale as those that evoked great gestures by past presidents, but it feels like our country is in pain right now and that we’re on the brink of a summer of great discontent, and we’re definitely in need of leadership.

Luckily, the residents of South Carolina have a strong leader in Nikki Haley. She was overcome by the emotion of the day, as you do, but made it a point to thank law enforcement for apprehending the suspect and relayed to the Charleston community that they are encircled in love:

I want to personally thank the law enforcement community because you have allowed us to start healing. We can now tell our children that person is in custody and not only lift up our law-enforcement communities but thank them and give some credit they deserve and the courage they deserve but I want to remind everybody, we have stepped up in a way that makes me proud.

We are seeing love, prayers, support and humility and for that I want to tell you I am thankful. We will continue to stand up for all the people, and the leaders you see behind us are willing to do anything and everything for the families and the church. For that I will tell you it is a very sad day in South Carolina, but it is a day we will get through, that we will remember.

Watch:

Right now, our country could use a lot more Nikki Haley, a lot less Barack Obama.