Right Wing World: The Latest Faux Outrage is "Umbrella-gate"

At least with a trio of potential scandals, Right Wing World actually had something to squawk about last week. Sure, the big Benghazi memo turned out to be bogus. The IRS thing may end up causing the tea party more damage than if it were left alone. The AP thing. . .well, who knows. But a jump to a new scandal, one about a marine holding an umbrella for the President? Well, this one is just stupid, and smacks of racism.

Freeze frame from Washington Post video.

In fact, if one does a cursory Google image search, one will find several other images like this one. Images of past presidents--Republicans, notably--in nearly identical poses. Apparently, it is something of a traditional thing for the military to do for the president. The only difference I can see in this incident from those of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan is. . .well. . .the color of the guy behind the podium. I know that alleging racism has become identical to racism in Right Wing World. But that is no more true than their commentary about this phony outrage. And this is not without precedent.

One that keeps coming around like a perennial flower is an image of President Barack Obama with his feet propped up on his desk. This was also a case where a simple image search would find examples of other presidents doing the same thing. But it doesn't matter. For some reason, it spreads like wildfire on the internet every few months, usually accompanied by right-wing commentary accusing the President of being arrogant, king-like, haughty, classless, anti-American, and everything right up to the line of "uppity." This is naked racism, nothing else.

And now for a blast from the past, the feet on the desk shots. . .

Rachel Maddow's (Fake) Presidential Address on BP Oil Disaster

UPDATE: The official video clip has been added here.

Wow.  Okay, I'm not naive enough to think that Rachel Maddow will be our first openly gay, first female President (oh, but to dream), but I hope President Obama and/or his staff watched Wednesday night's show.  Because if Obama had given this speech last night, the left would be still standing in thunderous applause, and the right. . .well, they'd be squawking, but they do that anyway.  This is sort of what I was saying a couple of months ago when I said that Obama should fire Rahm Emanuel and hire Aaron Sorkin.  This was a Sorkinesque speech, this was words and action.

I was underwhelmed by Obama's speech--not angered, just disappointed--but I honestly didn't know what I wanted him to say.  That was my biggest problem with the outpouring of criticism from the left: what the heck did you want him to say?  After watching Rachel's fake address, now I know.  I hope they're paying attention.

Here is a link to another blog's take on Rachel's speech. I'll post a video as soon as it becomes available.

[Excerpt]

Fake President Maddow NAILS it.

I saw posts here all day asking me what I wanted to hear from the President last night.

I have an answer for you right now:

I wanted to hear exactly what Rachel Maddow said tonight.

NOT ONE WORD DIFFERENT.


She was magnificent. I cheered her the way I wanted to cheer the President last night. . .

Read more at: DailyKos

President Obama Addresses Nation on BP Oil Disaster

So what did you think? I thought it was okay.  To quote Dom DeLuise's Caesar from History of the World, Part I, "Nice. Nice. Not thrilling, but nice."  It's hard to say what I--or anyone else--was expecting.  He's too professorial, he's not professorial enough, he's too emotional, he's not emotional enough. Whatever. If he's able to actually start making this look like there's an end in sight, I'll be happy, not before.

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This is Not a Rerun: Faux Outrage Over Obama's "Disrespect" for Office

Image from source, Media Matters

Sigh. After eight long years of an overgrown frat-boy in the White House, it's amazing to me that right-wingers are trying to pin a similar label to President Obama. It's kind of like when they pick on him for using a teleprompter, when George W. Bush used one. Or for Obama's speech patterns, when Bush could barely utter a coherent sentence (even with a teleprompter). Or countless other things.

But this one in particular is getting incredibly stale. They've already gone after Obama for not wearing a tie in the Oval Office, and for putting his feet on his desk. It's like that episode of South Park where Butters (as "Major Chaos") is trying to come up with an outrageous plan, only to have "General Disarray" tell him, "The Simpsons already did it!" In this case, Bush already did it. Endlessly. Obama bowed to a dictator? Hell, Bush held hands with and kissed one! On and on. So why are they back to this again?

[Excerpt]

Dear Fox Nation: Was Bush disrespecting the Oval Office, too?

The Fox Nation is currently highlighting a picture of President Obama with his feet up on his Oval Office desk, accompanied by the headline, "Is Pres. Obama disrespecting the Oval Office?"

If this sounds familiar, it should. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

Photo of the Day: Reagan. In the Oval Office. No Jacket.

As I said in my previous post (Octuplets? This Is What We're All Talking About?), we Americans can get distracted by frivolous stories. We can also turn non-issues into faux outrages with alarming regularity.

Right now, as we circle the economic drain, the big political issue? Barack Obama sometimes doesn't wear his suit jacket in the Oval Office! Horrors! The indignity! The lack of respect for the office! Are you kidding me man? If he can fix this country's problems (read: George W. Bush's screw ups), I don't care if he's wearing footie pajamas and a pith helmet.

And while this mock strife toward Obama is silly, it is made even sillier when you see photos like this one. This is a shot of Ronald Reagan in the oval, with no jacket. No tie. And a casual shirt. That Ronald Reagan. The not-nearly-as-popular-when-he-left-office-as Republicans-say-he-was Saint Ronnie. So there.


Source: AmericaBlog

No Jacket Required: The Oval Office Rule?

You may have heard whining from conservatives about Barack Obama's abandonment of George W. Bush's "jacket required" rule for the Oval Office. And while Bush may have always worn a jacket there, there is at least one photograph which shows that the rule was not always followed. I'm sure there will be many more discovered, should this continue to be an issue.

But, honestly, is this an issue? And while Bush may have been dressed in his rumpled, ill-fitting suit jackets every time he was there, is that even in the top 100 things that should happen there?

[Excerpt]

So much for the lie that Bush always required a jacket in the Oval Office

"The lies are subtle, but they're still meant to rewrite history, and make failed Republican politicians seem grander than they actually were."

Source: AmericaBlog

Barack Obama Finally in the Oval Office

No, you didn't have a very long nap. . .Barack Obama met with (still) President George W. Bush at the White House today, that's all. But it's a great image.