America – He’s Your President for Goodness Sake!
http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/america-hes-your-president-for-goodness-sake
By William Thomas
There was a time not so long ago
when Americans, regardless of their political stripes, rallied round their
president. Once elected, the man who won the White House was no longer viewed
as a republican or democrat, but the President of the United States. The oath
of office was taken, the wagons were circled around the country’s borders and
it was America versus the rest of the world with the president of all the
people at the helm.
Suddenly President Barack Obama,
with the potential to become an exceptional president has become the glaring
exception to that unwritten, patriotic rule.
Four days before President Obama’s
inauguration, before he officially took charge of the American government, Rush
Limbaugh boasted publicly that he hoped the president would fail. Of course,
when the president fails the country flounders. Wishing harm upon your country
in order to further your own narrow political views is selfish, sinister and a
tad treasonous as well.
Subsequently, during his State of
the Union address, which is pretty much a pep rally for America, an unknown
congressional representative from South Carolina, later identified as Joe
Wilson, stopped the show when he called the President of the United States a
liar. The president showed great restraint in ignoring this unprecedented
insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so stunned by
the slur, she forgot to jump to her feet while clapping wildly, 30 or 40 times
after that.
Last spring, President Obama took
his wife Michelle to see a play in New York City and republicans attacked him
over the cost of security for the excursion. The president can’t take his wife
out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the political opposition?
As history has proven, a president in a theatre without adequate security is a
tragically bad idea.
Remember: “Apart from that, Mrs.
Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”
At some point, the treatment of
President Obama went from offensive to ugly and then to downright dangerous.
The health-care debate, which looked
more like extreme fighting in a mud pit than a national dialogue, revealed a
very vulgar side of America. President Obama’s face appeared on protest signs
white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown image. In other tasteless
portrayals, people who disagreed with his position distorted his face to look
like Hitler complete with mustache and swastika.
Odd, that burning the flag makes
Americans crazy, but depicting the president as a clown and a maniacal fascist
is accepted as part of the new rude America.
Maligning the image of the leader of
the free world is one thing, putting the president’s life in peril is quite
another. More than once, men with guns were videotaped at the health-care
rallies where the president spoke. Again, history shows that letting men with
guns get within range of a president has not served America well in the past.
And still the “birthers” are out
there claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United States, although public
documentation proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely part of the United States,
but the Panama Canal Zone where his electoral opponent Senator John McCain was
born? Nobody’s sure.
There was a time not
so long ago when Americans, regardless of their political stripes, rallied
round their president. Once elected, the man who won the White House was no
longer viewed as a republican or democrat, but the President of the United
States. The oath of office was taken, the wagons were circled around the
country’s borders and it was America versus the rest of the world with the
president of all the people at the helm.
Suddenly President
Barack Obama, with the potential to become an exceptional president has become
the glaring exception to that unwritten, patriotic rule.
Four days before
President Obama’s inauguration, before he officially took charge of the
American government, Rush Limbaugh boasted publicly that he hoped the president
would fail. Of course, when the president fails the country flounders. Wishing
harm upon your country in order to further your own narrow political views is
selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous as well.
Subsequently, during
his State of the Union address, which is pretty much a pep rally for America,
an unknown congressional representative from South Carolina, later identified
as Joe Wilson, stopped the show when he called the President of the United
States a liar. The president showed great restraint in ignoring this
unprecedented insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was
so stunned by the slur, she forgot to jump to her feet while clapping wildly,
30 or 40 times after that.
Last spring, President
Obama took his wife Michelle to see a play in New York City and republicans
attacked him over the cost of security for the excursion. The president can’t
take his wife out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the
political opposition? As history has proven, a president in a theatre without
adequate security is a tragically bad idea.
Remember: “Apart from
that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”
At some point, the
treatment of President Obama went from offensive to ugly and then to downright
dangerous.
The health-care
debate, which looked more like extreme fighting in a mud pit than a national
dialogue, revealed a very vulgar side of America. President Obama’s face
appeared on protest signs white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown
image. In other tasteless portrayals, people who disagreed with his position
distorted his face to look like Hitler complete with mustache and swastika.
Odd, that burning the
flag makes Americans crazy, but depicting the president as a clown and a
maniacal fascist is accepted as part of the new rude America.
Maligning the image of
the leader of the free world is one thing, putting the president’s life in
peril is quite another. More than once, men with guns were videotaped at the
health-care rallies where the president spoke. Again, history shows that
letting men with guns get within range of a president has not served America
well in the past.
And still the
“birthers” are out there claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United
States, although public documentation proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely
part of the United States, but the Panama Canal Zone where his electoral
opponent Senator John McCain was born? Nobody’s sure.
Last month, a
44-year-old woman in Buffalo was quite taken by President Obama when she met
him in a chicken wing restaurant called Duff’s. Did she say something about a
pleasure and an honour to meet the man or utter encouraging words for the
difficult job he is doing? No. Quote: “You’re a hottie with a smokin’ little
body.”
Lady, that was the
President of the United States you were addressing, not one of the Jonas
Brothers! He’s your president for goodness sakes, not the guy driving the
Zamboni at “Monster Trucks On Ice.” Maybe next it’ll be, “Take Your President
To A Topless Bar Day.”
In President Barack
Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike
his predecessor, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s
predecessor, he’s a highly moral man.
In President Obama,
Americans have the real deal, the whole package and a leader that citizens of
almost every country around the world look to with great envy. Given the
opportunity, Canadians would trade our leader, hell, most of our leaders for
Obama in a heartbeat.
What America has in
Obama is a head of state with vitality and insight and youth. Think about it,
Barack Obama is a young Nelson Mandela. Mandela was the face of change and
charity for all of Africa but he was too old to make it happen. The great
things Obama might do for America and the world could go on for decades after
he’s out of office.
America, you know not
what you have.
The man is being
challenged unfairly, characterized with vulgarity and treated with the kind of
deep disrespect to which no previous president was subjected. It’s like the day
after electing the first black man to be president, thereby electrifying the
world with hope and joy, Americans sobered up and decided the bad old days were
better.
President Obama may
fail but it will not be a Richard Nixon default fraught with larceny and lies.
President Obama, given a fair chance, will surely succeed but his triumph will
never come with a Bill Clinton caveat – “if only he’d got control of that
zipper.”
Please. Give the man a
fair, fighting chance. This incivility toward the leader who won over Americans
and gave hope to billions of people around the world that their lives could be
enhanced by his example, just naturally has to stop.
Believe me, when
Americans drive by the White House and see a sign on the lawn that reads: “No
shirt. No shoes. No service,” they’ll realize this new national rudeness has
gone way, way too far.
OCTOBER
2010 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND
