So, Obama himself actually signs the letter to the family of a soldier

[MrsSmith]

SKKY  (1000+ posts)        Sun Feb-01-09 05:14 PM
Original message

So, Obama himself actually signs the letter to the family of a soldier who died in combat?

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What? The President has time for that? {insert sarcasm smilie}

You know, you'd think Obama would be busy...but I guess not.  Maybe he hasn't gotten his latest orders from Soros.

I remember all the stink about autopen signatures...just thought a little history was interesting:

Secretarial Signatures

Celebrities sometimes authorized secretaries to sign their correspondence. In the early months of WWII, U.S. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall felt obligated to sign every condolence letter sent to the families of slain soldiers. But as the death rate increased, he was forced to assign an assistant to "forge" his signature to the letters. The surrogate signatures were hard to distinguish from the originals. General Douglas MacArthur rarely signed a WWII condolence letter personally and all of his letters to families were signed by one of two assistants who tried hard to duplicate his signature but the "forgeries" were distinguished by an unusually high letter "l" and a skinny "D". MacArthur's Korean War-period condolence letters had pre-printed signatures.

In the 1952 Presidential Election, General Eisenhower often had secretaries forge his name to campaign letters and "personally inscribed" autographed photographs.


Autopen signatures

Since the early 1950s almost all American presidents have had an autopen or robot signature-signing machine sign their letters, photographs, books, and even official documents. The Signa-Signer can even write out in ink an authentically looking handwritten message that has been typed into the machine. One book detailing the use of this machine by President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) is The Robot That Helped to Make a President.

Since the 1960s, the practice of using an autopen has spread to U.S. Cabinet members and to U.S. Senators, and many other personalities who have a high volume of correspondence with the public.
http://danpritchard.com/wiki/Autograph

So, I guess it wasn't all that horrible, was it? 

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Yes, Obama has the time to do that...

...because his predecessor did all the heavy lifting for him.

[Gwitness]

two questions.....
1. Did the Kenyen write the letter?
2. How long does it take to sign your signature to a form letter?

[Lord Undies]

I guess the phrase "photo op" means nothing to the devoted Little Goons.

[Gwitness]

wtf?....is up with the avatars?

[jukin]

IIRC, Bush wrote the letters and made personal phone calls.

[thundley4]

President Bush also made many private visits to families that were not publicized. He did not do it for the photo-op that some might use them for.

[Lord Undies]

BREAKING NEWS:

Obama signs letters because his custom-ordered autopen has not been delivered.  It is expected to arrive this week.  Thereafter, all correspondence will be signed "Yo, Pres. O".   

[MrsSmith]

BREAKING NEWS:

Obama signs letters because his custom-ordered autopen has not been delivered.  It is expected to arrive this week.  Thereafter, all correspondence will be signed "Yo, Pres. O".