Newburgh Address: To Spin or Not To Spin

March 15, 1783, George Washington's Newburgh Address.

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The pivotal moment: 226 years ago today, George Washington did something we all eventually do, something we all postpone, as he did, something inevitable with aging. Washington began to address his Revolutionary War soldiers, pulled out a letter from a congressman, prepared to read and then, for the first time ever in public, George Washington donned his reading glasses.

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"Gentlemen, you must pardon me," he whispered, "I have grown gray in the service of my country, and now find myself growing blind."

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The Spin Zone: The Revolutionary War was coming to an end, the soldiers hadn't been paid yet and Congress had no money with which to pay. There was exhaustion, resentment and even talk of mutiny. Washington begged the men to give Congress more time to produce the money. In Washington's speech, with this one act of humanity & its spectacular self-sacrificial spin, Washington roused the soldiers' emotions, diverting a violent uprising and epitomizing the art of diplomacy.

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Theatrics? A Pre-Historic Spin? A heartfelt, innocent expose'? Your guess is as good as mine. Something for you to think about today.