Finally, A Real Commander-In-Chief

In his latest column, Mark Shields gets it right about how Obama outclasses Bush as commander-in-chief:

On January 22, 1997, John Glenn spoke about what he called "the Dover test" in the following words: "It's easy to see the flags flying and the people go off to war, and the bands play and the flags fly. And it's not quite so easy when the flag is draped over a coffin coming back through Dover, Delaware."

President Obama, during his campaign, promised to make Washington more "transparent" and more "accountable."-- and In a radical departure from the policies of Bush, Obama opened the Dover ceremonies to the press. Last Thursday, just after midnight, President Barack Obama left the White House, traveled to Delaware, and there in the pre-dawn darkness, personally took "the Dover test."

At 4 a.m., as he stood silently by as six soldiers carried the remains of Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin of Terre Haute, Ind., back to American soil and to those who mourned him, President Obama made both himself, and the national government he leads, more responsible and made the reality of war more transparent.

At Dover, he personally met with and consoled — in their time of profound sorrow — the families of 18 fallen Americans. No form letter or phone call. Just human being to human being.