Obama on patriotism.
He makes so many great speeches that we now take it as routine that he will do so. Here he promises that, at no point during this campaign, will he question anyone's patriotism. Nor will he stand idly by if anyone questions his.
He also asks that surely we can all agree that "no political party or philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism."
Now, this is the very thing that certain Republicans will never agree with him on, as they do believe that their political philosophy makes them uniquely patriotic and that anyone who disagrees with them is instantly a traitor.
Obama does well to call them on this early in the election, but they won't listen, as playing the patriotism card is the only way that Republicans ever manage to get America's working class to vote against their own economic interests.
UPDATE:
I've managed to find the full version of this speech which includes this great Mark Twain quote, "Patriotism is defending your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it".
2 comments:
Whether he realises it or not, Obama has hit on the Achilles heel of the McCain campaign. The Republicans seriously are contending that the vast majority of Americans are traitors, and the media is not calling them on this. Disagreeing with the President in "a time of war" is somehow "traitorous", but the Republicans railed against Clinton during his military effort in Bosnia. Yes, that was 'patriotic' of them. Dissent is only patriotic, apparently, if it is directed against Democrats, in which case anything goes.
For almost eight years now, we've had a former fighter pilot in the Executive office, and that military genius has made a complete mess of every military effort he has engaged in. But now, another former fighter pilot is somehow perfectly qualified for the job, even one that graduated near the bottom his class and does not know to use a computer.
I never realised just how much time the President actually spends flying fighter planes. It's obviously a very important part of the job.
Todd,
As you rightly say, dissent is treachery, unless it's dissent by the Republicans against a Democratic president.
The same people who are now saying it would be wrong for the US to withdraw from Iraq are the very people who were demanding that Clinton withdraw from Somalia the very next day after Black Hawk Down.
I am reading Richard Reeves' biography of Richard Nixon, "Alone In The White House", at the moment and it's really striking the lengths that Nixon went to in order to avoid admitting defeat in Vietnam. He didn't care how many died to facilitate his lie, just as Bush doesn't.
And they dare to claim that anyone who objects to what they are doing is somehow unpatriotic. It's simply sickening.
Post a Comment