Slighted president, now you must pay

President Obama dropped the ball in reprimanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal, missing a golden opportunity to show truly great leadership.

After reading the Rolling Stone magazine article twice, in which the general is alleged to have bad-mouthed the president, vice-president and others on the White House staff, several things stand out:

• The article was extraordinarily well-written and thoroughly researched, capturing the essence of General McChrystal, that ever since and including his days at West Point, he has always been a hell-raising soldier, speaking his mind freely, caring not at all about who is listening.

• The general early on acquired a reputation for getting the job done, thus his rise through the ranks to four-star general, even though he ranked only 298th in a West Point graduating class of 855.

• He was a soldier's general, often going out on patrol in the middle of the night with the privates, sergeants and junior officers.

By reprimanding General McChrystal, relieving him of his command, prompting the general to take early retirement, the president muffed a chance to exhibit truly great leadership. He could have told the general something like, "So you bad-mouthed me to the press. Big deal. Had I been in your shoes, in a dangerous, stress-filled wartime situation, shipping many of your soldiers home in body bags, I might have said some of the same things. General McChrystal, I want you to know that you have my full confidence. I want you to return to Afghanistan and continue as commanding officer. I salute you for your great military career, for earning the reputation of getting the job done."

Instead, the president showed mediocre leadership at best, in effect telling the general, "You have slighted me, the president of the United States, and for that you must now face the consequences."

Joe Schrantz

Villa Park