I spent a wonderful Memorial Day weekend in New Jersey shore town of Lavallette, NJ with my wife and our 2 children, as we have many years in the past. We stayed, as we usually do, with my in-laws who reside in Lavallette year-round. My father-in-law is a volunteer firefighter in town, and every year we look forward to attending the memorial service that takes place on Barnegate Bay. We view it as an opportunity to show our kids that the holiday is about more than just barbeques and a day off for their mom and dad.
Unfortunately, Lavallette Mayor Walter LaCicero thought it would be a good opportunity to make political hay and take some clearly partisan jabs at President Obama. In the mayor’s opening remarks, after saying that he didn’t like bringing "politics" into these type of events, he proceeded to do exactly that, and criticized the president for deciding to "go on vacation", and implied that the president showed a callous disdain for our military veterans and fallen heroes.
If one listened only to the mayor’s remarks, they would be led to believe that President Obama had completely blown off the holiday and opted to take some time off instead. Had the mayor bothered to pick up a newspaper, he would have known that the president spent the weekend with his family in Illinois, and attended a Memorial Day service at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood while Vice President Biden participated in the wreath laying ceremony at Arlington. A quick internet search would have shown him that this is far from unprecedented. Among more modern presidents, Ronald Reagan missed three Memorial Days in Arlington, George H.W. Bush never went to a single wreath-laying during his four years in office and his son, George W., missed one while attending D-Day anniversary events and celebrations in Europe. In contrast, Bill Clinton attended the ceremony at Arlington every year during his two terms as president.
Based on the tenor of the mayor’s comments, I suspect that if president Obama HAD attended events at Arlington, Mr. LaCicero would have been among the first to point out that the president hadn’t served in the military, and would suggest that his participation was merely lip service or a cheap photo-op.
Mayor LaCicero’s comments cast a pall over the entire event for my wife and I when he deemed it appropriate to make political statements during a solemn memorial ceremony meant to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for ALL Americans, regardless of their political stripe. As a staunch supporter the first amendment, I suppose he has the right to do so. However, as an elected official, I would hope that the mayor would know better. Sadly, it seems he just couldn’t help himself.