Here are two paragraphs from the beginning of President Obama’s Remarks at a memorial service yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. See if you notice something remarkable in them:
To those of you who mourn the loss of a loved one today, my heart breaks goes out to you. I love my daughters more than anything in the world, and I cannot imagine losing them. I can’t imagine losing a sister or brother or parent at war. The grief so many of you carry in your hearts is a grief I cannot fully know.
This day is about you, and the fallen heroes that you loved. And it’s a day that has meaning for all Americans, including me. It’s one of my highest honors, it is my most solemn responsibility as President, to serve as Commander-in-Chief of one of the finest fighting forces the world has ever known. (Applause.) And it’s a responsibility that carries a special weight on this day; that carries a special weight each time I meet with our Gold Star families and I see the pride in their eyes, but also the tears of pain that will never fully go away; each time I sit down at my desk and sign a condolence letter to the family of the fallen.
No, not the 12 references to “I,” “my,” or “me.”
It is the reference in the second paragraph to his status as commander of “one of” the finest militaries. Presumably he needed to acknowledge that other countries think of their militaries as exceptional too.