Posted Saturday, November 7, 12:31 AM CST, 1:31 AM AM EST, 0631 GMT.

Top editorial and op-ed commentaries in the Saturday editions of the leading U. S. newspapers:

1) The massacre at Fort Hood, Texas occasions an op-ed contribution to the New York Times by former U. S. Senator, Vietnam veteran and triple amputee Max Cleland. “While the authorities say they cannot yet tell us why an Army psychiatrist would go on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas, we do know the sorts of stories he had been dealing with as he tried to help those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan readjust to life outside the war zone. A soldier’s mind can be just as dangerous to himself, and to those around him, as wars fought on traditional battlefields…. After America’s wars, the used-up fighters are too often left to fend for themselves…. Figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs show that 131,000 of the nation’s 24 million veterans are homeless each night, and about twice that many will spend part of this year homeless.”

2) In the NYT, Bob Herbert fears that America may be asking too much of its servicemen and servicewomen. “The authorities will deal with Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who is accused of bringing the nightmare of mass murder into the sanctuary of a military base on American soil. But the rest of us need to look very closely at the stress beyond belief that is being endured by so many other men and women in the armed forces…. Simply stated, we cannot continue sending service members into combat for three tours, four tours, five tours and more without paying a horrendous price in terms of the psychological well-being of the troops and their families, and the overall readiness of the armed forces to protect the nation.”

3) In the Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Interview, Matthew Kaminski speaks to Polish journalist Adam Michnik, veteran of his country’s political opposition during the Cold War, on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mr. Michnik is optimistic about the future of his country, and does not appear especially concerned about any threat that might be posed by the Russia of Vladimir Putin. “Poland has not had such 20 years in its last 400 years, 300 years. We are on the side of the West. We are sovereign. We have all possible civil rights. Democratic elections. Open borders. No censorship. That is simply a fantastic change.”

4) In the WSJ, Peggy Noonan thinks that the White House is not listening to the public. “A president has only so much time. Mr. Obama gives a lot of his to health care. But the majority of voters in New Jersey and Virginia told pollsters they were primarily worried about joblessness and the economy. They’re on another path, and they don’t like the path he’s chosen…. The president chose promises made before the recession fully took hold, rather than more pressing and pertinent public concerns. In the language of marketing that has become the language of politics he thereby, in his first year, damaged his brand.”

5) In the Washington Post, Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge comment on groundbreaking for a national park and memorial to those aboard Flight 93, which crashed in Somerset, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001. “The Flight 93 memorial will be the only Sept. 11 site designated as a national park, which means that every citizen will be a part owner and steward of this monument. Since Sept. 11, tremendous work has been done to create this 2,220-acre park. While the memorial is surely important to those who lost loved ones that day, its meaning for the rest of us cannot be understated.”