OUR CULTURALLY SENSITIVE PRESIDENT – AT 8:12 A.M. ET:  President Obama was scheduled to fly to Warsaw yesterday to attend the funerals of Poland's president and first lady.  But the ash cloud over Europe made flying impossible, so Obama cancelled.

Now, common sense tells us that the president should have extended some gesture to the Polish people to substitute for his presence in Warsaw.  Holding a service at the White House would've been nice, and respectful.  Or, going to the Polish embassy and delivering a eulogy might've worked.

But this was Poland, a friend, not an enemy.  Who needs 'em?  From the Washington Times:

A massive volcanic plume covering most of Europe forced President Obama to cancel a Sunday trip to Poland to attend the funeral of the nation's president. But the last-minute change left an opening in his schedule, so the president headed to the links for a round of golf instead.

On a cool but sun-drenched Sunday, the president and three golfing companions went to Andrews Air Force Base to play 18 holes. It is the 32nd time Mr. Obama has played golf since taking office Jan. 20, 2009, according to CBS Radio's Mark Knoller.

After canceling the Poland trip on Saturday, the White House announced that Mr. Obama had no public schedule for Sunday. He was to have arrived in Krakow in the morning, attend the 2 p.m. funeral and leave for home by 5 p.m., arriving back at the White House after midnight.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, along with dozens of top Polish government officials were killed April 10 when their airplane went down in heavy fog after clipping a tree on approach to Smolensk, Russia.

Mr. Obama has not gone to the Polish Embassy in Washington since the accident, but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. both have. There, they signed a condolence book.

COMMENT:  We like to think that presidents grow in office.  This one shrinks.

April 19, 2010