How's this for publicity-seeking? In the wee hours of the morning President Obama flew out to Dover Air Force Base to witness the return of the bodies of 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan, and as usual with this guy ("Paris Hilton"), the whole thing was a massively choreographed media spectacle…

The overnight trip was not announced in advance. The president, wearing a dark suit and long overcoat, left the White House at 11:44 p.m. A small contingent of reporters and photographers accompanied Mr. Obama to Dover, where he arrived at 12:34 a.m. aboard Marine One.

As the Commander-in-chief stood on the darkened tarmac and saluted, the flag-draped case was unloaded from the cargo plane in what the military calls a "dignified transfer," as six soldiers in white gloves and camouflage fatigues carried the remains in precision. Mr. Obama and uniformed officers stood at attention as the case was placed in a white mortuary van parked nearby.

The transfer of the bodies — a solemn, 15-minute proceeding — took place after Mr. Obama spent nearly two hours meeting privately with several family members in the chapel of the Air Force base.

What a disgraceful circus.

Say what you will about George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, but none of them would have done such a thing.