Sad

   It is a sad day when the president of the United States decides he has better things to do than call with condolences and sympathy to the families of American soldiers killed in combat.
   Especially when he accuses his predecessor of not making such calls.
   Or spends the day playing golf when the coffins of the slain return to the U.S.
   And when a reporter challenged the president's claim during a press conference on the White House lawn, the current occupant of the Oval Office admitted he "doesn't know" whether his predecessor telephoned bereaved families.
   He added that he will make such calls "when I can." Or he will write letters.
   Perhaps playing golf is more important. That's what he was doing last week when the dead returned home.
   This from the same person who dismissed John McCain's status as a war hero only "because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."
   McCain was a Navy pilot who was shot down over enemy territory and spend five years undergoing torture before being released. He later became a U.S. senator and candidate for president.
   The current president got several draft deferments and did no military service because of an alleged bone spur on his foot, but later could not remember which foot.
   Other presidents have routinely telephoned families, and have gone to Dover Air Force Base to meet the flag-draped coffins of American war dead.
   Not this guy. He has more important things to do.