There was no finer expression of belief in American exceptionalism
than Kennedy’s. Obama has a different take. As he said last year in
Strasbourg, France, “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I
suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks
believe in Greek exceptionalism.” Which of course means: If we’re all
exceptional, no one is.Take human rights. After Obama’s meeting
with the president of Kazakhstan, Michael McFaul of the National
Security Council reported that Obama actually explained to the leader
of that thuggish kleptocracy that we too are working on perfecting our
own democracy.Nor is this the only example of an implied moral equivalence that diminishes and devalues America.
God Almighty, calm down, Chuckles. Somehow I don’t see the Kazakhstan invasion as imminent. I think we’re gonna be okay, even if Obama admits we’re not perfect in front of somebody with a funny last name.
I don’t approve of Obama’s conciliatory kink when it comes to Republicans, but when it costs us nothing to say nice things about how we all have flaws, why the fuck not? If America truly is the Greatest Nation on Planet Earth, as Krauthammer would have us scream from the rooftops, what do we have to lose by being magnanimous to some “thuggish kleptocracy?”
American cannot simultaneously be the Strongest and Bestest Ever and then also be Subject to Collapse When Someone Says Insufficiently Triumphant Things.
Notice, too, how Obama habitually refers to Cabinet members and other
high government officials as “my” — “my secretary of homeland
security,” “my national security team,” “my ambassador.” The more
normal — and respectful — usage is to say “the,” as in “the secretary
of state.” These are, after all, public officials sworn to serve the
nation and the Constitution — not just the man who appointed them.
THE PRESIDENT:
I have just completed a
meeting with my national security team, and we have received the latest
intelligence updates.
Ten seconds of Googling. Seriously. Those editorial standards I’m always told print has to prevent false and malicious and just plain trivial commentary from getting through to the unwashed masses must have taken the weekend off.
Krauthammer continues:
Obama is not the first president with a large streak of narcissism. But
the others had equally expansive feelings about their country.
Oh, okay. So long as you consider America your BFF, you can be the Most Wondrous Preznit of All Time. Got it now.
A.