Obama Reads the Phone Book At Buchenwald

He might as well be reading the phone, anyway. The lack of engagement with his own words is astounding to watch. At first, it seems as if he is adopting a pose of quiet respect for the horror in his midst. But, as the speech wears on, it becomes evident, his brain has disengaged, and he is just mouthing words. 

Listen, for instance, to how Obama pronounces the words (at 3:43 into the video), "Now these sites have not lost their horror with the passage of time ..."

As I said, he is clearly disengaged. You draw your own conclusion as to the reason.

Pamela has more, including video of Elie Wiesel's moving speech with Obama standing next to him.

To his credit, Obama did have some words for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

Obama calls out Iran leader

"To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened," Obama said. "This place is the ultimate rebuke to such thoughts, a reminder of our duty to confront those who would tell lies about our history."

It was a pointed message to Iran's Ahmadinejad, who has expressed doubts that 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis.

"He should make his own visit" to Buchenwald, Obama told NBC earlier Friday. He added: "I have no patience for people who would deny history."