From Beyond the Beltway: Obama Pride
Posted by: Editorial Staff | 03/24/2008 8:59 AM
Posted on behalf of Ken Rietz, former Deputy Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
It is usually the little things a candidate does or says that gives real insight into his or her character or beliefs.
For example, Senator Obama has dismissed as frivolous those who wear an American flag on their lapel. A photo has surfaced showing him in a line with men having their hands over their hearts during the National Anthem while his hands are folded in front of him. When the moveon.org ad criticizing General Petraeus appeared in the New York Times, Obama refused to join the chorus of criticism. He is a member of a church with a Pastor who regularly spews rage and hatred about our country.
Perhaps the most telling indication of the kitchen table conversation at the Obama home, was Michelle Obama's comment that her husband's candidacy is the first time in her adult life that she was proud of her country.
Does that mean that she was not proud, like most of us, when the Berlin Wall fell during the Reagan Presidency? Was she not proud of our country when we drove the invaders out of Kuwait? Or, when the Clinton administration negotiated a peace in Northern Ireland? Was she not proud of our country when we provided millions in aid to Thailand after the devastating Tsunami? Or, when President Bush announced billions in assistance to African Aids victims? After 9/11, could she help but be proud, of those brave Americans who brought an airplane, directed at Washington, down in a field in Pennsylvania?
Most of us have a sense of pride that our nation may nominate the first black American to be President of the United States, despite the efforts of the Clintons to play the race card in the hope of stealing the nomination.
It seems a shame that the Obamas have not had that same sense of pride that most of us feel when we hear our National Anthem, see the fire works on the 4th of July, or pass one of the many monuments dedicated to our Founding Fathers.
Originally published in the April issue of the Middleburg Eccentric.
It is usually the little things a candidate does or says that gives real insight into his or her character or beliefs.
For example, Senator Obama has dismissed as frivolous those who wear an American flag on their lapel. A photo has surfaced showing him in a line with men having their hands over their hearts during the National Anthem while his hands are folded in front of him. When the moveon.org ad criticizing General Petraeus appeared in the New York Times, Obama refused to join the chorus of criticism. He is a member of a church with a Pastor who regularly spews rage and hatred about our country.
Perhaps the most telling indication of the kitchen table conversation at the Obama home, was Michelle Obama's comment that her husband's candidacy is the first time in her adult life that she was proud of her country.
Does that mean that she was not proud, like most of us, when the Berlin Wall fell during the Reagan Presidency? Was she not proud of our country when we drove the invaders out of Kuwait? Or, when the Clinton administration negotiated a peace in Northern Ireland? Was she not proud of our country when we provided millions in aid to Thailand after the devastating Tsunami? Or, when President Bush announced billions in assistance to African Aids victims? After 9/11, could she help but be proud, of those brave Americans who brought an airplane, directed at Washington, down in a field in Pennsylvania?
Most of us have a sense of pride that our nation may nominate the first black American to be President of the United States, despite the efforts of the Clintons to play the race card in the hope of stealing the nomination.
It seems a shame that the Obamas have not had that same sense of pride that most of us feel when we hear our National Anthem, see the fire works on the 4th of July, or pass one of the many monuments dedicated to our Founding Fathers.
Originally published in the April issue of the Middleburg Eccentric.
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Making of the President 2008
