Obama vetoed Walesa as stand-in for dead Polish hero

We all know by now about President Obama outraging the Polish government by referring to "Polish death camps" in a ceremony posthumously awarding a decoration to a hero of the World War II Polish resistance. But it seems that there's more to the story.

Apparently the president vetoed the founder of Solidarity, the former president of Poland, and the father of modern Polish democracy- Lech Walesa- as the surrogate for the dead hero. Walesa is said to have been "too political" for the tastes of the White House.

In any event, Chicagoan Obama- who comes from the city with more Poles in its population than any other except Warsaw- hasn't done himself much good this week with the Polish community. Or, for that matter, with anybody who thinks that diplomatic instincts are anything other than optional in a President of the United States.

HT: Drudge