Another salute faux pas for the Prez
A number of you sent links to an article about President Obama disregarding a saluting Marine aside his whirly-ride today;
I know a number of you will get pissed, but I just can’t. Sure, he should have been conscious enough to return the salute when it was offered, but he did make up for his carelessness with the young Marine. I’ve absentmindedly returned salutes when people mistook me for an officer, there have been a few times that I walked by an officer without saluting because I was thinking about something else. This president and his administration have given me enough reasons to get upset at him, this is minor in comparison.
So call me names, but I think there are too many things to get legitimately exercised over and we don’t have to pick over every little thing Obama does or doesn’t do. And, I think he made it right when he came out of the chopper and chatted with the Marine. The Marine will probably remember that brief chat and handshake longer than he would have remembered a returned salute.
But that’s me, and because I don’t ban people for disagreeing with me, do your worst.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden
Smitty, like I said, I don’t call doing movies & such “military” service, in the same way many folks here didn’t consider the retired soldier who was employed as a contractor in the sandbox as having military service, even though what he did was much closer than Reagan’s PR efforts. I’m not knocking the man; I voted for him twice, and his physical status kept him out of the war.
As for those with service, I repeat: JFK, LBJ, Nixon, and Carter all had military service, and they all sucked. They were all Navy as well. I wonder if there was a connection. 🙂
So, no, I don’t think the “not saluting” thing is a big deal. I would have more respect for Obama if he announced that he doesn’t consider it appropriate for the President to salute those in uniform. That would be more his style as a civilian academic.
…It would, however, be funny watching “President” Hillary Clinton trying to continue the saluting tradition…
I hate the current POTUS for any number of reasons. I doubt his being genuine but this shows he’s at least trying not to be a douchebag.
He seemed rather distracted. I wonder what could be bothering him. Money?, No. Wife?, No. I have it. George Bush!!
About the tradition, Ronald Reagan said, “I never ceased to enjoy reviewing our men and women in uniform and hope I started a new tradition for presidents. As Commander In Chief, I discovered it was customary for our uniformed men and women to salute whenever they saw me. When I’d walk down the steps of a helicopter, for example, there was always a Marine waiting there to salute me.”
“I was told presidents weren’t supposed to return salutes, so I didn’t, but this made me feel a little uncomfortable. Normally, a person offering a salute waits until it is returned, then brings down his hand. Sometimes, I realized, the soldier, sailor, Marine, or airman giving me a salute wasn’t sure when he was supposed to lower his hand. Initially, I nodded and smiled and said hello and thought maybe that would bring down the hand, but usually it didn’t. Finally, one night when Nancy and I were attending a concert at the Marine Corps Headquarters, I told the Commandant of Marines, “I know it’s customary for the President to receive these salutes, but I was once an officer and realize that you’re not supposed to salute when you’re in civilian clothes. I think there ought to be a regulation that the president could return a salute inasmuch as he is commander in chief and civilian clothes are his uniform.” “Well, if you did return a salute,” the general said, “I don’t think anyone would say anything to you about it.”
“The next time I got a salute, I saluted back. A big grin came over the Marine’s face and down came his hand. From then on, I always returned salutes. When George Bush followed me into the White House, I encouraged him to keep up the tradition.”
I’ve been distracted enough by my own petty concerns to miss a salute to an officer on occasion. I can imagine that the President, even if he’s a man I often disagree with, might have more and much weightier and far-reaching matters on his mind than I do.
Seriously, if someone can’t actually pick a real and major issue to lambast him for, they are merely being a lazy, intellectually deficient douche-fuck.
P.S. Actually wrote the above before watching the video. That was a classy recovery by the President.
“Seriously, if someone can’t actually pick a real and major issue to lambast him for, they are merely being a lazy, intellectually deficient douche-fuck.”
Pave Pusher: You just reminded me why it is I never did much give a shit about your comments. I will remember, hereafter.
Sigh…..
And I will still appreciate and respect most of yours. Have a great day.
He was even considerate enough, as he was leaving the helicopter to speak with the marine, to give the people in the chopper a hand sign that said, “Hang on, gotta take care of something, be back in a minute”.
In my opinion someone in the chopper said, the cameras are on you and you missed a salute. Then he goes back to make amends. Every president has a lot on his mind. Like “how do I cover my ass on Benghazi” and little things like that. Say what you want he was wrong. Amends or not. The marines who stand guard for him deserve HIS respect at the same level they give theirs.
Pardon me in the last post. I meant Marines not marines.
I’m inclined to give BO a pass on this one.
I went to school in Quantico right after boot camp. Given that I was a lowly Private and the average rank on base was Major, I spent a lot of time saluting. It wasn’t uncommon for an officer not to return or acknowledge the salute. I never took it personally, figuring it was up to their discretion whether to do so or not. I just held the salute until we passed each other then cut it and went on my way.