President Obama gave the commencement address to the Class of 2010 at West Point on Saturday, and his performance hardly lived up to his reputation as a masterful orator. The address was little more than an almost embarrassing series of left-wing campaign clichés and platitudes strung together. Obama informed the cadets that "We must develop clean energy that can power new industry... and preserve our planet" and that "America will always seek a world that extends... rights so that when an individual is being silenced, we aim to be her voice."

The speech sounded more like a ninth-grade class presentation than a presidential address to the nation's most prestigious college. Obama told the cadets "America does not fight for the sake of fighting," "...we will be stronger when the world is more just" and "Terrorists want to scare us."

Obama laid political correctness on the cadets quite thick, stating "Muslims are part of our national life, including those who serve in our United States Army." Could he have been referring Major Nidal Hasan, of Ft. Hood???

Applause from the cadets and crowd was, to put it mildly, "polite." The speech to the Army's finest was stilted, perfunctory, and insincere. It hardly inspired faith in the Commander-in-Chief. By contrast, Secretary of Defense Gates delivered a brilliant, touching and heartfelt address last year to the Class of 2009.

The author is using a pen name and witnessed the president's speech as he saw his child graduate yesterday at West Point, Class of 2010.