It has become clear in the past two months that some talk radio hosts, television hosts, and Republican candidates for president believe one thing. They are unable to win the hearts and minds of the American people with policy debates and ideals shared, so winning requires the creation of fear. Fear of the President, fear of who he is, where he is from, fear of what he thinks, and what he believes in. They unabashedly offer outright lies and distortions of truth in the place of solid figures and facts.
Let's start with Gov. Mike Huckabee's discussion of whether or not the President was born in the United States. His answer to the question was " I think we need to know more about his birth. We need to know more about the man." Then the ex-Governor continues on discussing the fact that the President was from Kenya and his grandparents were part of the Mau-Mau revolution against Great Britain. He said the President attended a Madrassas as a child. (A Madrassas is a school in Indonesia ). "While we were growing up and attending Boy Scouts, he was at a madrassas." claimed Mr. Huckabee. By innuendo, Mr. Huckabee is questioning both the President's Americanism and his Christianity. THIS from a purported minister of the christian faith!
Ex-Gov. Huckabee is followed only slightly by Newt Gingrich. The ex-Speaker of the House blasted President Obama for his " Kenyan, anti-colonial mindset that is authentically dishonest and factually insane." Authentic? Factual? This statement was made by the same man who blamed his affairs in office on his love of country and long work days.
Representative Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin are two presidential hopefuls who are not afraid to undermine anything the President does, even if they have the same viewpoint. Case in point? Libya. A mere 10 days before the US assisted UN forces in establishing a no-fly zone, both Rep. Bachman and Ms. Palin made statements to the effect that the president was waffling. Their viewpoint was that he needed to intervene on behalf of the Libyan rebels to save lives from Khaddaffi. Once the US was flying missions to establish that no-fly zone, they did not hesitate. The president had no authority to engage in Libya and no reason to commit US forces to assist the rebels.
The truth is that President Obama was born in Hawaii. He attended a catholic school for less than one year in Indonesia. He attended Catholic school in Hawaii and Occidental College in Los Angeles, followed by a degree from Harvard Law School. It is true that no matter what the president does or stands for, his opponents are going to oppose that point of view. If their flip-flops are pointed out to them, they simply shrug, and make more outrageous statements.
It is also true that unless we take the microphone away, this sort of undermining of our President will never stop.
Related articles
Mike Huckabee's Mau Mau Remarks