The Marine and the President

From the Washington Post:

On Sept. 8, 2009, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer, then a 21-year-old corporal, defied the orders of his superiors while on duty in a remote province in eastern Afghanistan, raced into a “killing zone” and helped rescue 36 U.S. and Afghan troops.

When President Obama recently called to tell Meyer he would be awarded the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest honor, Meyer didn’t take the call. Meyer, now 23, was working a new job in construction and asked the president to call him back another time.

“He told me, ‘If I don’t work, I don’t get paid,’ ” Obama recounted with a chuckle Thursday afternoon at the medal ceremony for Meyer in the gilded East Room of the White House.

When invited to the White House, Meyer said he would like to have a beer with his Commander in Chief. The President was happy to accommodate him. No doubt, he was honored to do so.

The above photo was released by the White House. A few critics complained that it was a photo-op for the president. Big deal. It's a nice picture.