From KGO Radio:
“Obama will be on vacation in Chicago this Memorial Day, instead of presiding over Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington. This may be the first time since the Civil War that a president will not pay respect to the veterans passed.”
What a slimeball.
Somebody wrote, “Good! I’m relieved that the graves of brave men and women won’t be desecrated.”
And he might be right. But the paradox here is that the fact that Obama isn’t going is proof that he doesn’t deserve to go in the first place.
Here’s the story, which cites the Washington Post report that Obama will skip the Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington:
President Obama’s Memorial Day Plans, Skip Arlington, Vacation In Chicago
By Shannon BellPresident Obama’s Memorial Day Weekend plans include skipping Arlington,vacation in Chicago, you know, because he hasn’t been there in a while. The mainstream media sure has a nifty way of spinning the fact that Obama’s skipping Arlington services on Memorial Day in a time of war no less to vacation in Chicago.
The Washington Post says Obama’s skipping Arlington on Memorial Day to keep a “campaign promise.” One of his many promises during the campaign of 2008 was that he would visit Chicago every six weeks or so. He hasn’t been there for a stay since February of 2009.
Once again Obama’s lack of good decision making shines through. He’s the Commander in Chief whether he or we like it or not. Memorial Day comes but once a year, Arlington is where the President of the United States needs to spend his time. But Obama’s Memorial Day plans, skipping Arlington, vacationing in Chicago.
It’s only Memorial Day. The day when we honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. It’s only Arlington National Cemetery. Quite possibly the most hallowed and sacred piece of realestate in the country. He’s only the Commander in Chief. The leader of our armed forces who commands their respect.
But hey. If you need a break take it when you can get it, right? Obama hasn’t had many opportunities to fly home to Chicago. There was that one time he took Michelle out dancing and to the theater. Oh wait that was New York. Well how about a couple weeks ago when he took the time to spend the weekend there when he should have been attending to the oil spill? Did I miss that one too? You’re right, that was a weekend getaway to a spa in North Carolina.
What about his numerous golf outings, or what about the Obama’s vacation last year to the beach? He couldn’t have taken one of those “opportunities?” Nope. Obama’s Memorial day plans, skipping Arlington , vacationing in Chicago. Priorities Mr. President, priorities.
Obama basically hasn’t kept any of his other promises. Why is his promise to vacation in Chicago more important than his duty to honor the fallen soldiers in wars past as well as the one he’s sending troops to die in now?
The problem is that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in Arlington, not in Chicago. Unless Obama wants to have one made out of Styrofoam like those tacky Grecian columns he once used.
And, oh, yeah. That golf thing. After the media criticized George Bush for playing gold while his troops were fighting for their lives, Obama has played golf more in one year than Bush did in eight years. In fact, Obama was playing golf when three of the soldiers under his command were sacrificing their lives on the battlefield.
This is a president who has ordered men to their deaths in Afghanistan. The least he can do for those who’ve died under his direction is lay a freaking wreath on a freaking tomb on one special freaking day of the year.
Shame on him.
Slimeball.
You know if it were Teleprompter Day, Obama would be there to lay that damn wreath to honor the only device that keeps him from looking like the complete jabbering fool that he truly is.
Barack Obama apparently won’t be there (unless political pressure shames him into canceling his “vacation”), but please help me – even if you’ve disagreed with everything I’ve said about Obama – in doing your darnedest to honor our heroic warriors, be they young or old, living or dead.
Update, May 31, 2010. I have been challenged on the claim that Obama is the first president since the Civil War to skip Arlington. I checked into it, and stand corrected. That said, many of those who tell me to check my facts should likewise check their facts.
For instance, Farrow says:
Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II all missed the wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery at one time or another
Moreover, President Obama will lay a wreath tomorrow (Memorial Day) at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.
Well, yeah. But Bush II missed Arlington only one time – when he honored the veterans who had fallen on the beaches of Normandy in France. That’s a pretty good reason to “miss.” Much better than Obama’s promise to vacation in Chicago more.
With the “blame Bush” climate, this is one thing you can’t “blame Bush” for.
George H.W. Bush missed ceremonies at Arlington, but he was a decorated combat veteran of World War II. Barack Obama, by contrast, is not a veteran, did not serve in combat, and has not been decorated for anything.
When Barack Obama is decorated for heroism in combat, like Bush I was when he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, he can skip Arlington, which honors such heroes. Until then, an excuse that cites George H.W. Bush falls apart rather pathetically.
One of the occasions Regan missed as President occurred while he was recovering from wounds incurred after having nearly been assassinated. You might cut him some slack for that one. He also attended a summit meeting, and was out of the country dealing with the Soviet Union, during wreath-laying ceremonies. In 1987, Reagan was in Camp David – working on a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviets. Again, hopefully you’ll cut him some slack for working to end nuclear Armageddon.
As a further update, Obama did not actually participate in the Memorial Day event in Chicago. It was canceled due to rain. Which means that maybe God Himself doesn’t think Obama deserves to honor our warriors. End update.
Tags: Afghanistan, Arlington, Chicago, Civil War, golf, Memorial Day, Obama. vacation, our freedoms, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, ultimate sacrifice
Start Thinking Right 
May 30, 2010 at 6:07 am
Why lie?
Reagan didnt go every year. George Bush Sr. didnt go every year.
George W Bush didnt go every year. Only Clinton went every year.
Why do you lie?
May 30, 2010 at 6:30 pm
please check your facts and re-title your blog post. Regan, HW and W all skipped it as well, all “Right” presidents:
Previous presidents have allowed others to lay wreath at Arlington Cemetery to honor troops
1983: Reagan attended summit meeting; Defense Department official Thayer laid wreath at Arlington. Deputy Secretary of Defense W. Paul Thayer laid a wreath at Arlington Cemetery during the Memorial Day ceremony in 1983, according to a May 31, 1983, Washington Post article (accessed via Nexis). The AP reported that President Reagan attended a “summit meeting in Williamsburg, Va., with leaders of the industrialized democracies.”
1992: George H.W. Bush allowed VP Quayle to lay wreath. In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, according to a May 26, 1992, Boston Globe article (accessed via the Nexis database). The Globe reported that President George H.W. Bush attended a wreath-laying ceremony and made brief remarks at an American Legion hall in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he also played a round of golf.
Veterans Day 2007: Cheney attends ceremony to pay tribute at Arlington as Bush remained in Texas. On November 11, 2007, the AP reported that “President Bush honored U.S. troops past and present at a tearful ceremony Sunday for four Texans who died there.” The AP further reported that “Vice President Dick Cheney went to Arlington to pay tribute to Iraq veterans.”
May 30, 2010 at 9:30 pm
You do know that Republican presidents use teleprompters too right?
May 30, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Your claim is untrue:
Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II all missed the wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery at one time or another.
Moreover, President Obama will lay a wreath tomorrow (Memorial Day) at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.
May 31, 2010 at 12:10 pm
I know that no president has EVER used the teleprompter the way Obama has:
From Politico:
Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual — not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events, large and small. […]
“It’s just something presidents haven’t done,” said Martha Joynt Kumar, a presidential historian who has held court in the White House since December 1975. “It’s jarring to the eye. In a way, it stands in the middle between the audience and the president because his eye is on the teleprompter.”
Just how much of a crutch the teleprompter has become for Obama was on sharp display during his latest commerce secretary announcement. The president spoke from a teleprompter in the ornate Indian Treaty Room for a few minutes. Then Gov. Gary Locke stepped to the podium and pulled out a piece of paper for reference.
The president’s teleprompter also elicited some uncomfortable laughter after he announced Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as his choice for Health and Human Services secretary. “Kathy,” Obama said, turning the podium over to Sebelius, who waited at the microphone for an awkward few seconds while the teleprompters were lowered to the floor and the television cameras rolled.
Obama has relied on a teleprompter through even the shortest announcements and when repeating the same lines on his economic stimulus plan that he’s been saying for months — whereas past presidents have mostly worked off of notes on the podium except during major speeches, such as the State of the Union.
So, yeah, I think we’ve got every right to mock Obama for his teleprompter addiction.
May 31, 2010 at 12:22 pm
David, I did check my facts, and deleted part of the title as a result.
I’ve posted more than 2,000 articles. About three of them have turned out to have errors.
That record sure makes me better than the New York Slimes. And further, when I HAVE been shown to be wrong, I have kept the article up, along with the refutations. That makes me a lot better than liberal sites such as Media Matters and the Daily Kos, which simply wipe factually disproven material on a regular basis.
Both sites participated in the slander against Sarah Palin prior to Trig’s birth, alleging that Sarah had never been pregnant, and that Bristol was carrying her own father’s baby, necessitating Sarah to stage a ruse to cover for the shocking incest.
When Bristol turned out to be pregnant with her OWN baby by an identified father (obviously making the “Bristol was Trig’s mother” story impossible), the vile articles simply disappeared, with no apology offered.
So bad as you want to say I am over my error here, thank God I’m not as vile or as wrong as often as liberal media.
Now let me deal with the issue at hand. I added the following update at the end of this article:
May 31, 2010 at 6:16 pm
first if you’re refering to GW trip to Naormandy he was At an American Cemetary of Our fallen soldiers to remember what they did for our freedom in world War two. Secondly in 1992 George senior was Campaigning and gave a memorial day commencment that was broadcast at Arlington I was There. Obama”S Country is AT WAR he needs to lead by example Wheteher I agree with HIs misguided Ideas or not he still needs to show a Strong AMERICAN example of leadership. Our soilders Go where we send them without question, Because its their job. They should have the feeling that they are backed up by a leader that cares not a Milksop that Doesnt give a Fiddlers bitch whether they sacrifice or not this day is as much for the fallen as it is for the living that are currently deployed He has a welfarian mindset that has a smattering of Desertion. congratulations enjoy your change. Just what we need Our president begging for change.
May 31, 2010 at 7:15 pm
George H.W. Bush, who was awarded the nation’s second highest decoration for valor, didn’t need to “prove” his honoring of our warriors by laying down a wreath. He’d already given his measure of devotion.
George W. Bush DID serve, but he never served in combat. He never failed to honor our troops. And the ONLY time he wasn’t at Arlington he was at Normandy.
Barack Obama never even served. He doesn’t get to choose George H.W. Bush’s standard, because he doesn’t deserve to.
Obama went to Chicago, according to the Washington Post article, because he’d made a campaign promise to go to Chicago more. Not a good enough reason to skip out of Arlington. Not even close to good enough.
Bottom line: Obama should have stayed in Washington and laid a wreath at Arlington. It was the least a president who never served in combat could do while soldiers died in the field under his command.
May 30, 2011 at 8:07 am
Not only is the President in D.C. and not Chicago, he is not using a teleprompter.
Why in the world did you write such a stupid piece?
Gavin.
May 30, 2011 at 8:14 am
Wow, just saw this crap was a year old. Never mind.
May 30, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Thanks for the self-correction, Gavin.
I have not followed Obama’s Memorial Day outings this year, but I haven’t heard of anything that gives me offense. Unlike that last time.
Have a happy Memorial Day.