FOX New's Sean Hannity's reviews are in. And, wouldn't you know it? The media, according to him, and without a shred of evidence of bias, is star-struck about President Obama's inaugural trip to Europe. First, Hannity presented on April 6 a blog quote from a London Telegraph writer he called Iain Murray. Actually, it's Iain Martin and his post is here. In the first part of this clip, Hannity says the writer portrayed Obama as a "wind-bag" but conveniently, and to further his cause, left out a sentence by the Telegraph writer:
The Obamas have handled their trip well and in their public appearances have been a credit to their country. But I'll wager that within a year or so he'll be marked down as a wind-bag. — Iain Martin, London Telegraph
One of Martin's points in the column was that Obama wasn't the storied orator as many folks in America have purported. Fair enough. But Martin did compliment Obama's visit, and Hannity didn't feel it convenient for his argument to mention this.
Hannity's other point is shockingly telling. After putting up this quote:
Obama presemted himself as a 'new kid on the block' ... As a newbie who still had a lot to learn. — Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Hannity quoted another piece from a different German newspaper, saying:
Obama's words have a certain degree of humility to them and sometimes even a slight meekness ... Obama is not trying to make himself look like an important global leader but instead is taking pains to speak in a clear and direct manner so as to avoid problems. — Suddeutsche Zeitung
And Hannity's conclusion:
Well, aren't you just grateful that cowboy diplomacy has been replaced by meekness. Definitely the change we've been waiting for.
I'm sure Hannity got his sarcasm orgasm for the day out of that line, but actually, yes, I am glad cowboy diplomacy has been buried for at least four years. Cowboy diplomacy killed thousands of Native Americans, it trampled over numerous lands under Great Britains once imperialistic nation and it recklessly got us into a war in Iraq of which we are still clambering to get out.
Instead of giving us weak, out of context and cherry-picked examples of how the Europeans have received Obama, why not give us more substantive examples, like this column or this one?
Further, the religious right should applaud statements similar to those Hannity quoted from the Suddeutsche Zeitung, if they really believed the Bible:
Matt. 5:5 Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
This is the third step, Meekness: to endure with patience and without anger or resentment. The release of ego and pride indicates the awakening of a divine Spirit. — http://www.thenazareneway.com
But Hannity seems to scoff that someone would describe Obama as meek. Why is that? Doesn't Hannity represent the conservative, largely evangelical point of view? To many, I'm sure he still does, but to the rest of us, his live and let die mentality shows through quite clearly. Thus, meekness, and in turn, Christlikeness, has no place in Hannity's America.