No Farewell Speech? 

This little tidbit is being misreported everywhere... that Paul Bremer, the head of the former Iraqi Provisional Authority didn't give a farewell speech. According to several accounts in the Washington Post and L.A. Times, he just tucked tail and ran, when in fact he gave a nice speech that moved many Iraqis. Instapundit is also covering this here. So what is the point here? The media covered up and lied once again regarding what happened in Iraq? Well that's part of it. But what I think the real point that everyone is missing is how important it was that Bremer gave a low key speech. According to one response to an angry email sent to the Times reporter:

On the day he left and the day or two before that when I accompanied him on trips, he gave no farewell speech of the kind that one might give on the day or two before leaving.

What kind of speech were you expecting? Were you expecting Bremer to stand in front of all Iraq and make wild pronouncements? Were you expecting him to make a long speech after the hand over congratulating the Iraqi people? Let me ask you this... How does a former American President behave when he leaves office? First he usually give a low key speech praising himself, and what he did in the last 4 to 8 years. Then he sits idly by as power is transferred to the new President. Finally he gets on a plane and leaves. Why? Because he is no longer President, and it is wrong to take the focus away from those who are now the rightful leaders of the country. Guess what Paul Bremer did? I think he set and excellent example of what a peaceful transfer of power should be like for the Iraqi people. The Iraqis are now in charge, and they are the ones whom the spotlight should now focus on.