Obama Unfit To Be Commander In Chief by Doug Wrenn

Obama Unfit To Be Commander In Chief

By Doug Wrenn

November 24, 2007

Several weeks back, there was quite a news flurry because for reasons yet to be understood by me, the subject was raised that Senator Barack Obama was not wearing the traditional American flag lapel pin that became trendy after September 11th. Obama stated that he stopped wearing the pin because he feels too many people use that pin as a substitute for patriotism.

Let's face it, before September 111th, almost no one wore those pins. After September 11th, Chinese trinket factories started cranking them (hopefully, "unleaded") out by the rickshaw load and soon, American public officials were about as expected to wear the flagpin as they are to kiss babies and collect checks at re-election time. So on its face, the flagpin story didn't seem like much more substantive news than just idle gossip, and similar mindless tripe is about 50% or more of our news today, and especially in big election years in which the horse race and all its trimmings edits out most of the discourse on actual issues.

That aside, I did consider Obama's flippant answer snide, shallow, and evasive, in other words, all that you would normally expect from an empty suit liberal with more charisma than resume. The problem with liberal politicians getting into tight spots is that it is usually liberal reporters who do the "grilling," at rather cool temperatures. Accepting Obama's off the cuff, chip-on-the-shoulder drivel, to my knowledge he never did expound as to how he does, if at all, supposedly carry out his patriotism if the flag pin is a mere substitute.

I take Internet hoaxes about as seriously as I do smug liberals with more chutzpah than experience. So when my wife and I recently dined with friends at their home, I was skeptical but polite when my buddy insisted on showing me an email he recently received from his sister. Bear in mind that my buddy did a double tour in the jungle in Viet Nam and his son is currently an Army Ranger, serving in Afghanistan. In short, this is a very patriotic family, and they don't need to flaunt it with lapel bling, or sophomoric and defiant, but veiled subversive remarks.

The picture in the email, which I understand has now already gotten around more than Britney Spears on a Saturday night when she's not wearing underwear, is of a huge American flag. Standing next to the flag are Senator Hillary Clinton, Governor Bill Richardson, Ruth Harkin, wife of Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, and Obama. Clinton, Richardson, and Mrs. Harkin all patriotically and respectfully held their hand over their heart, while Obama just stood there, with his hands clasped together at groin level, with the same relaxed pose and apathetic mug you would expect to see from an illegal immigrant during the playing of the national Anthem at a baseball game.

My buddy was seething mad, and for good reason. So was I, but not like him. As you could well imagine, he's no shrinking violet, and he had this look in his eye like he just found the one VC that previously got away after killing his buddy. After my first reaction of vitriol, my senses soon grabbed my emotions and gave them a good shake. But of course, it was about this same time that my buddy planted another icy beer, fresh out of the fridge, into my hand and his respectively, so suffice to say that cooler heads were already prevailing, even if the transformation was alcohol induced. My first (logical) thought once I chugged a couple mouthfuls and bypassed my initial emotions was that this very well could have been an Internet hoax. I often joke with my editors that I am the "Slip Mahoney Of Cyber Space." Every time I successfully manage to send a column in, I amaze myself, not at my literary skill, but at my cyber luck. But there are plenty of geeks, nerds, and dweebs out there who can do just about anything but clean out my cats' litter box with that vast and perplexing myriad of 1's and 0's, so OK, the picture could have been doctored. I'm no Obama fan, but this cheap Internet nonsense happens all the time. Even I was willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, at least this time. The picture was also taken outdoors and Ruth Harkin's presence, with Hillary and Richardson nearby did ring a bell in my head. Tom Harkin traditionally does some kind of Democrat fundraising steak fry during election time in Iowa. Whether the picture was doctored or not, I figured it was at last somewhat related to the steak fry. (Leave it to the Democrats to ruin a perfectly good steak by frying it, and then have the audacity to put the arm on you for a check afterward! Heathens!)

The picture did arouse my curiosity though. Apparently, it was real. I stumbled upon a blog called "Fact Checker," by Michael Dobbs. The web address is so ridiculously long that it was literally cut off at the top of my screen, but apparently, the blog is affiliated with the Washington Post. (I found the site by doing a Google search on "Obama flag pledge".) In an undated column on the blog entitled "Obama Nabbed By the Patriot Police," Dobbs shows the picture and explains that in fact, Obama was not holding his hand over his heart, assuming there is even one in there somewhere. Dobbs elaborates that the event did take place at Harkin's traditional steak fry, and that contrary to popular belief, the Pledge of Allegiance was not being said; the National Anthem was being played. (Oh, that's all? Whew! What a relief! For a minute, I thought Obama was dissing the US!) Dobbs goes into more detail that all present also may have appeared to be dissing the flag as their backs were to it, but plenty of other flags (He didn't say from which nations!) were there, so other group could have been facing another flag that was out of the photo. Dobbs also reported (per Obama spokesman, Bill Burton) that Obama sometimes does put his hand over his heart, and he displayed other photos to substantiate that claim, and he reported (per Burton) that on other occasions, Obama does not place his hand over his heart. Oh, now I see! Well that explains it! So sometimes, this presidential wannabe honors the flag (or our National Anthem) and sometimes he doesn't. Why sure, of course. Newsflash, folks, sometimes I don't feel like paying my taxes!

Assuming that the information Dobbs supplied is credible, the explanation doesn't cut the mustard. In fact, I think I would love to lock Obama and my buddy in a room with an American flag for a few uninterrupted minutes and let the fun begin. I didn't like his haughty, cavalier excuse regarding the flagpin, but I didn't see it as a crucial event either, but now I see a pattern emerging. There is a classic angry, strident audiotape of Hillary "Buttercup" Clinton that either Rush Limbaugh and/or Sean Hannity often play on their radio shows. In fact, I remember that speech a few years back. Hillary's true she-wolf emerged, and her screech was shattering glass, stopping traffic and blowing buzzards off of meat wagons. In that unforgettable speech, she said that she is sick and tired of (I presume, Republicans, and other members of the "vast right wing conspiracy") accusing dissenting Democrats (like there is another kind) of being bad Americans. Those who occasionally disagree with the United States are not bad Americans. But those who constantly blame America for every woe in the world, both real and imagined, and who bash our troops, sometimes while even standing on foreign soil, like several liberal members of Congress have done more than once, then yes, you are a bad American, and I don't care who doesn't like it. There is a line at which honest dissent becomes sedition, and in our present day, in which moral self-confidence, like masculinity, requires sensitivity training, no one dares speak truth anymore in our emasculated, upside down politically correct culture. But this dinosaur didn't get that memo, and he doesn't care who doesn't like it. Not only is Barack Obama a bad American, he is absolutely and consummately unfit to be President and Commander in Chief, especially during time of war when better people than him are bleeding, suffering and dying for that very flag which he wishes to even acknowledge on sunny days and in months with an "R" in them.

I heard a caller into a radio talk show today (I forget which one, as I was driving and more pre-occupied with getting home and out of the pre-Thanksgiving traffic madness at the time!) comment on Obama's recent admission of drug abuse in his younger days. The caller claimed that supposedly such an admission would be grounds for denial to a federal government employee seeking to obtain certain classified clearance. And if not, it should. The caller rightfully questioned how Obama could then be even considered eligible for President. I have that answer. Obama can be President because personal accountability went out the window long ago. Young athletes can skip class, get arrested, or generally raise Hell and their coaches try to protect them. Kids get arrested for crimes and the same Mommy and Daddy who always blamed the mean teacher now tells the cops that little Johnny is really a good boy. Cheating, whether in school or on the spouse, is a half a blink away from being fully accepted. And last but not least, both major parties in this country are more concerned with partisan power than patriotic principle and that's why we get hacks and whores instead of leaders and statesmen. And no, Mr. Dobbs, there are no "Patriot Police" in the US, just a few remaining good but stubborn Americans who still give a damn about their country, but not the lame excuses they are incessantly handed as to why they should hold their noses and settle for the soulless schmuck du jour from the dysfunctional Democrat and Republican political machines that serve no better purpose other than showing us a mirrored image of what our society once was and what it has since mutated into.

Ask any good street cop how many wanted felons he has grabbed off the street simply by making what at the time appeared to be a routine motor vehicle stop. Recidivist felons don't only break big laws; they break all the lesser motor vehicle infractions, too. What reasonable expectation do we have that someone who is so blasé toward simple matters can be trusted with more significant ones? If Barack Obama can't be bothered to consistently and willingly show some minor gesture of honor and respect for his nation's flag, what will he do when entrusted with the precious lives of the brave men and women who selflessly defend it with their very blood? We're not talking about some kid at the supper table who refuses to eat his vegetables, and wartime is no time to elect a fully-grown adult national leader who hasn't yet shed the allure of spontaneous adolescent tantrums. Like with the flagpin episode, Barack, or his appointed spin-doctors, aren't volunteering any real red meat for further clarification. What Barack isn't saying is potentially far more disturbing than what his narcissistic, obnoxious, outspoken wife does all too often say. But at least Michelle is good for a laugh once in a while, and she isn't seeking to be President and Commander In Chief. Well, not yet, anyway. Besides, it's not her turn yet.