Will The President Defend Rush? — President Obama, Wednesday, gave a wonderful speech at a memorial to the victims of the Tucson shooting held at the University of Arizona in the city.
He went off script to add the words “it did not ” for emphasis to a paragraph in which he baldly stated that heated political discourse was not responsible for the actions of the murderer.
His political allies among the dying dinosaurs of the once-dominant media have been attempting to convince Americans that a communist-praising, flag-burning, skull-worshiping, mentally unstable Christian-hater had been somehow inspired by prominent Republicans.
The President’s command for them to chill was, as one counts, his first attempt to impose national unity as our nation’s leader.
So sincere kudos but for him to succeed in his desire for “civil and honest public discourse” he must not stop with that one phrase uttered on one day. He must speak out in defense of all Americans — even his political adversaries — when they are on the receiving end of hate and lies.
When the Tea Party Movement is accused of racism, he must say they are not racists since they are not. When the Pro-Life movement is accused of being misogynist bullies, he must say they are not since they are not.
When a scary effigy of Sarah Palin is hanged high from a window and then given wide publicity, his voice must be the loudest in saying take it down. When Rush Limbaugh is falsely accused of uttering vile, bigoted words, let the President be the first to come to his defense.
That he disagrees with Sarah and Rush would only make him look bigger and he might start getting the “civil and honest public discourse” that he claims to want.