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To Thine Own Self

Ever since President Obama was elected, conservatives have looked for anything, no matter how small, to profess their disgust for the man. The things that send them into severe conniption fits are the very same behaviors that keep Barack grounded in reality. Taking his jacket off in the Oval Office, throwing his feet up on the desk, tossing a football around his house or sitting on the steps outside the ambassador’s office in Paris are all excuses for why the man isn’t fit to hold the office of the President.

Naturally, all of these things are what people do every single day. When Obama leans back in his chair he cues us in to the fact that, perhaps like no President before him, he is one of us. But when you compare the right’s distain for Obama’s casual habits to those of his predecessor, the hypocrisy is deafening.

The right used to point to the “folksy antics” of George W. Bush as an asset. They argued his inability to put coherent sentences together and his refusal to read the newspaper were because he was “an average guy”, someone Americans wanted to “have a beer with”. Yet when Obama tosses a football in his own home he’s denigrating the country and his office. How times have changed.

Unlike Bush, who spent 1/3 of his Presidency on vacation, Obama has had his sleeves rolled up and the jacket off from day one. In doing so, both figuratively and literally, he has stayed true to his roots and allowed us to see ourselves in him. Republicans would do well to remember there is nothing wrong with being yourself, particularly if you are the President of the United States. That’s one of the reasons why we elected him in the first place.

4 Comments

  1. I appreciate your perspective. There is a great deal of two-faced finger pointing coming from the Right right now and we need more people calling them on it. Well said.

  2. Well put. The right-wing machine runs on hypocrisy. I’m glad Obama still has human moments while knee-deep in the gigantic mess made during the last eight years.

  3. Ged, where is your evidence that the “Right” is attacking him over the things you listed?

  4. Sam, I provided several examples in the post itself, but since you asked, here are more:

    Former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Conservative critic Michael Medved chastise Obama for his “lack of respect” for the office and the general “locker room experience” he has brought to the white house

    Conservative post at FreeRepublic.com about Obama’s offensive gesture and disrespect for his “museum piece desk” by putting his feet up on it while talking to the Israeli Prime Minister

    More on the feet up event with this classic “Obama is, in fact, a master of the insulting gesture” at resistnet.com

    An oldie but a goodie from the Dallas News about Obama’s lack of patriotism and respect by not covering his heart during the national anthem

    The Rational Actor seems to have a beef with Obama and the football, as well as all his other “childish” behaviors

    And who can forget FOX News’ indignation at Barack and Michelle’s “terrorist fist jab“?

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