Whoa I must have missed this one. There was a "controversy"/outrage boner over his suit color??? Really? I guess I can't say that I am surprised.
If I salute you, I won't do it half-assed, nor will I have a cup in my hand that I'm using to salute you.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>For all our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TCOT?src=hash">#TCOT</a> friends out there, having trouble keeping up with this scandalous President. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/p2?src=hash">#p2</a> <a href="http://t.co/Wi8v6C22eF">pic.twitter.com/Wi8v6C22eF</a></p>— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) <a href="https://twitter.com/crooksandliars/status/514895864095985664">September 24, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Who gives a F about arbitrary military symbolism? It's not a battlefield, if they expect people to act a certain way, flip them off. That's something you can do which I'm jealous of.
Constums and courtesies are ingrained in American military tradition. What I find ironic is in my experience most direct combat troops such as infantry personnel despise customs and courtesies. We try to get away with hair over regulations. We run inside when colors are being played so we don't have to stand outside in attention. We avoid officers as much as possible in order to avoid salutes. We try to shave as least as possible until our higher ups notice. Yet apparently we give a **** when the president, a civilian, salutes with a latte in his hand.
The salute certainly wasn't respectful. I believe that is the intent of the gesture, to show respect. I have seen him do this correctly so it isn't as if he doesn't know how to salute properly. I guess he just doesn't have time to show respect to the men who protect him... which is disrespect. Obama's actions are his own and comparison to former president Bush reminds me of my children telling me "Sally did it too..".
This is a basic synopsis of the faux crises manufactured around Obama. But, still, that salute wasn't cool. Put the drink in the other hand and do it properly. Not disrespectful to the nation or the marines. But it wasn't duly respectful to the guys standing right there, imo.
Wingnuts be really running short of things to complain about if this keeps you up at nights. I suspect you could go through each President's history of salutes and found similar clumsy salutes... and if it bugged you with this President, why didn't it bother with past Presidents (including GWB's "dogged" salute)?
These faux controversies/outrage boners just give Fox News, angry talk radio hosts and the 1 million "patriot blogs" out there something to talk about. Fox News has been doing quite well since Obama was elected in 2008. I will agree that it was disrespectful to the Marine standing there but I can't take the outrage seriously. When virtually everything related to Obama is a called shameful/disrespectful/despicable/dramatic adjective/ludicrous scandal/controversy then its like crying wolf.
Yes he shouldn't salute with a latte. Out of the 3000 flights he's probably taken, he made a salute with a latte. Still, if he had served in the military like George Bush kinda did, he might know that. You know, when you respect the uniform because you faced death in it, like George Bush did, you will be mindful to salute without a cup in your hand. But if you didn't, you probably see it as a symbolic gesture and nothing more. And that's the truth. It isn't that Obama doesn't respect the troops or the marines or his country, its just that he doesn't think much of a salute in the first place. It's a gesture and nothing more to him, and that's why he slips up. I would rather he just not salute. But what saddens me is that this is what people focus on, instead of his policies.
"if you want to get stupidly wealthy, exploit the stupid" -- Dubious After years of watching The Daily Show expose FAUX I am 100% convinced that they are trolling. Their tabloid owner has no political agenda other than to build a rabidly loyal viewing audience and he will script his talking heads say whatever to hit the emotional hot buttons of the low information viewer to do that. FAUX is the rasslin' of infotainment.
