House of Eratosthenes

Churlish Ass You have the floor, Sen. Barack Obama. I am ready for my explanation. What was going on at the moment the shutter clicked, that everyone in view has their right hand extended reverently over their hearts, and you’re just standing there like some lowbrow boob?

What, they had a false start and you were the only one smart enough to figure out the music wasn’t playing yet?

Maybe that’s it, or maybe you were the one slow on the uptake. Or maybe…maybe…you assumed the proper position, and microscopic aliens conspired to yank your hand down off your chest and interlace your fingers together. Or maybe it’s a Photoshop job. Or…I dunno. Fill in your own excuse. But make it good.

Make it good, or your candidacy is finished. Or it ought to be.

I mean, indulge for me this thought exercise, will you. There’s this foreign country. The foreign country is having an election next year, and there’s no less than fifteen candidates for that high office. Prime Minister or something. The foreign country has a ceremony in which all are called upon to salute that country’s flag, and one of the candidates is so devoid of consideration and good manners, that he stands there like a poorly-bred rude little brat…

…and he’s allowed to continue to run.

What’s the very best thing you can think about that country, that they would put up with this? What’s the very highest level of esteem in which you could hold them? Not real high, huh. Well here we have a situation in which America is that other country.

So my logic is quite simple…solid…and sound. Obama drops out now.

This very instant.

Or else, next time you have some asinine international “poll” talking about how those foreigners don’t hold the US of A in high regard — don’t come crying to me about it. Don’t you dare come snivelling my way about it. Blame Obama.

What a churlish ass.

Update 10/23/07: Welcome Pajamas Media readers, pleased to have ya.

Update 10/24/07: Found video. They’re really butchering the hell outta the national anthem. Obama did applaud at the end, but went the better part of a minute with his hands down like that. There are an awful lot of people with their hands over their hearts, he could have been facing away from all of them. So one possible excuse, although far from likely, is that he’s simply unacquainted with the custom.

Each reader may make up his or her own mind as to whether or not that would be Presidential material. I’ve made up mine.

Just remember. Outside of that one possibility, that extremely remote, fantastical possibility, there’s only one other. Obama has a core constituency whose support will waiver if he’s caught saluting. That would mean we’ve got a lot of people voting in this country — a lot of people, dozens of millions — spitting on the flag. And it goes well beyond the “I love my country but I fear my government” or “I respect my country but I loathe what it stands for lately” stuff. These are people who will distrust and despise you if they catch you saluting the flag. And they must be here, walking around, voting, if politicians are afraid of ’em.

I mean, I just gotta believe Obama knows something I don’t. So if those people exist, is it alright for me to question their patriotism yet?

Well, saluting the flag, putting your hand over your heart is just a false display of substitute patriotism.

I try to show my patriotism by showing how much disdain I have for America, because, you know, disdain is patriotic.

So MoveOn… I mean move along, now. These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

Hillary’s gotta be grinning from ear to ear at seeing this picture.
- philmon | 10/23/2007 @ 09:33
On a more serious note… this is America, of course, and anyone’s allowed to do whatever they want as long as they aren’t breaking any laws.

But of course… voters are allowed to react to whatever he does however they want to as well. The voters will finish him. The only reason he should pull out now would be to stop wasting his time and money … and that of his donors.
- philmon | 10/23/2007 @ 09:38
[…] I Made a New Word VIII Explain Best Sentence XIX Duh Matrix Cemetery Workers Starving Democrat Broken Promises And Now, WeCelebrate Someone’s Good Fortune Granzella’s Manhood As Wasabi Twenty-First Century Split On The Slang Term “Neocon” Best Sentence XVIII I’m a Slithering Reptile […]
- House of Eratosthenes | 10/23/2007 @ 09:44
Phil,

Someone slanders your mother, you say or do nothing about it, it reflects poorly on you AND her. This is the relationship we all have with our country.

And you know what’s going on here…we’ve got all these so-called “voters” who not only are going to think I’m silly for making an issue out of this — but think more highly of Obama because of this picture. Essentially, they want to lend him the keys for four years so he can crash the car. I hope Hillary uses her media connections to get a little more publicity behind this picture and force a discussion about it. Inquiring minds want to know.
- mkfreeberg | 10/23/2007 @ 09:52
Well, Hell. Give the man some credit. At least he stood up. Could have been worse, as it’s said.

/sarcasm

Now…let’s talk about Billy’s sartorial splendor. He looks like one of the diary farmers from around here. NO kidding. I buy into that style, as well, and I’m NOT being sarcastic this time… 😉
- Buck | 10/23/2007 @ 12:08
Someone slanders your mother, you say or do nothing about it, it reflects poorly on you AND her. This is the relationship we all have with our country.

It reflects poorly on him for sure. As for it reflecting poorly on the country, I have to consider the source.

I guess I have some confidence that we, you and me and many, many others, will call him on it. Which is fine. Ultimately, though, I think if we just let him continue on this course … and it looks like we’ve reached that point if this photo gets widely circulated — he’s got plenty of rope to hang himself.

My unscientific sneaking hunch is that MoveOn makes up at most 20% of the population. It might even be only 20% of Democrats. They can’t defend this in any way that the other 80% of America will accept. And there’s no changing the minds of that 20%. They’re just noisy and hold significant purse strings. IMEHO (in my emerging humble opinion) this going to be more of a problem for the Democrats than anyone else as time goes on thanks to stuff like this. I’m sure they have their Cuban immigration papers all in order and are just on the waiting list for flights into that Island Paradise and model of Socialist Bliss™.

But maybe I’m just optimistic today. 😉
- philmon | 10/23/2007 @ 13:27
Come on folks.
This is america.

If anybody doesnt speak english or respect our traditions, they cannot be president because if we allow him to become president, he will do everything that he can to diminish our traditions.

Its way past time for the old united we stand, divided we fall group to come back into power and get rid of all these damn yes men, and women.
- vbierschwale | 10/24/2007 @ 21:32

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