Barack Obama made a curious statement Thursday during his obligatory public lament over the stunning slayings of nine worshippers in an historic Charleston church.
He said: "I’ve had to make statements like this too many times."
Obama intended this to bemoan the frequency of fatal shootings in America, which he attributes to the easy availability of firearms. It would have been too honest and nuanced for the current president of all Americans to note that scores of millions of us have our own firearms easily available to us, yet live peaceful, law-abiding lives under the Constitution that Obama twice swore to uphold.
While a minute scoopful of loonies abuse the power of firearms to live out their hate and inadequacies at the expense of innocents. And Obama claims he's tried so hard to unite the country.
As president -- heck, as a fast-food, burger flipper -- Obama has the right to speak out about anything he deems important. Many of us, in fact, feel Obama has spoken out on many more things than he needs to as a photo-op substitute for meaningful action or real leadership. And have tuned him out for these final 580 days of his Oval Office tenure.
That doesn't diminish the horrible, senseless South Carolina crime that offends the decency and values of virtually every American.
What also offends, however, is how this president behaves after he speaks out on awful tragedies as the nation's elected leader.
"Too many times" he bemoans the incident, then blithely goes off to political fundraisers collecting millions of dollars. Or he golfs. Or this weekend, he does both.
Every president has political duties. Every president needs relaxation time. But immediately after such awful deaths? Time and time again? How can Obama's upbringing and allegedly elite education have been so oblivious to seemliness? Propriety? So tone-deaf to appropriate behavior. Would he sell Girl Scout cookies to mourners leaving a cemetery?
In Obama's early years we figured it was just rookie mistakes. When the White House scheduled court time for the president of the United States to coach some city kids on his beloved basketball, Obama instead proceeded to show off his lay-up as the youngsters watched.
When the world stood aghast as a double tsunami devastated Japan's coast, killing thousands, Obama said all the right things about our closest Asian ally, our shared humanity and offers of help. Then he went golfing.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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