Where Was the Hate

Dr. Paul Kengore wires on Front Page Magazine: "Watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama, I was impressed by the graciousness and civility by the two presidents at the platform during the transition. To tepid applause, Obama began his Inaugural Address by thanking George W. Bush for his service. As the camera panned to Bush, the 43rd president seemed non-responsive, sad.

After the ceremony, the Obamas and Bushes slowly descended the Capitol steps together, almost arm in arm—two presidents and two first ladies, two couples, four Americans, four people. They chatted quietly, amicably. The Obamas escorted the Bushes to the helicopter. They hugged, shook hands, George Bush gave Michelle Obama a kiss on the cheek. The helicopter flew away.

Graciousness. Civility.

I watched this on MSNBC. It was all so moving that it threw me for a loop when, as the Bush helicopter gradually disappeared from sight, the camera fixed on an Obama supporter carrying a giant sign that read: “BUSH GO TO HELL.” (I’ve since learned that such rude gestures were more common than I had realized, including the crowd chanting at Bush, “na na na na … hey, hey, hey, goodbye. Click here.)

My mind immediately raced back to the inauguration of George W. Bush in January 2000. On that other January day, Bush used his Inaugural Address as an opportunity to call for unity after the terribly divisive 2000 presidential election. “Unity,” he said shortly into his speech, “is within our reach, because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves, Who creates us equal in His image.” He spoke of the need for compassion, character—and civility.

He defined compassion as the work of a nation. He interjected one of his favorite Biblical stories—the account of the Good Samaritan. He made a “pledge” in those first presidential minutes: “When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side.” Though no one could have foreseen it, Bush would later (April 2003) invoke that same parable in explaining to a shocked White House press corps why he was about to take the unprecedented step of spending $15 billion on African AIDS relief in a period of record budget deficits and amid a major war in Iraq—and with tens of billions more yet to follow.

The benediction at the 2000 inauguration was done by Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church, an African-American congregation in Houston that Bush addressed as governor. Caldwell, who described himself as politically independent but a “spiritual supporter” of Bush, urged forgiveness: “Almighty God, the supply and supplier of peace, prudent policy, and non-partisanship, we bless your holy and righteous name. Thank you, O God, for blessing us with forgiveness.”

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=003497B0-AD0C-4B3B-B6D0-90D4CC6C9914

My thoughts are had the roles been reversed, President Bush would have immediately counseled the bitter naysayers in the audience and given them a lesson in humility, civility, and decency. It's it funny that the left seems to care so very much what other nations think of us, yet they behave like this at perhaps our most important public event.

The Ugly Side of the Inauguration - A Missed Opportunity

Sherman Frederick of ReviewJournal.com writes:

"Ironic that on Inauguration Day, when President Barack Obama told Americans it was time to take personal responsibility and "grow up" as a country, some of his supporters behaved like spoiled children in booing George W. Bush.

And, sadly, neither Obama nor any leader in the public spotlight that day seized the moment to admonish the boorish behavior.

It would have been nice had Obama had the presence of mind in his inaugural speech to not only allude to scripture in saying it's time to put away "childish things" but to also have told the boo-birds that their behavior was inappropriate and the embodiment of those "childish things."

He might have said: "Isn't it enough to be just happy for me? When you boo the former president, you fail to understand what this solemn event is all about -- the peaceful transition of power. This is not a football game. Nor is it a Third World bloodless coup. This is American democracy at work. If you can't respect that, then leave. Now."

But no one mustered the courage to say that. While I thought Obama's speech was otherwise thought-provoking and worthy, he missed an opportunity to call out these boors and chastise their behavior. By not doing so, I am afraid that Obama essentially condoned this kind of mob intolerance. There is already a hateful mean streak among some Obamamaniacs. Left unchecked, it can fester into something quite un-American and un-democratic.

In case you missed it, when President George W. Bush was announced to the crowd, some booed loudly, shocking even the commentators on the official Obama network, MSNBC. One section of onlookers sang, "Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye." And, finally, as Bush left the White House, one deep thinker took the opportunity to give the "one-finger salute," thus saying more about himself than anything else.

This from a movement that fancies itself all about peace, love and global karma."

Please read entire article at: http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/38291659.html

My thoughts on the matter are these. Jimmy Carter was the worst president in my lifetime. Not for a second did I consider standing outside the White House as he left to boo him or give him the one finger salute. The same goes for Clinton. It never even entered my mind and here we define the true depth of Bush Derangement Syndrome. Even when he took the high road and never said an unkind word about Obama, even when he and Laura and their two girls embranced Obama's family, even when Bush said that Obama was a good man, Obama could not find it in himself, nor could his "followers" to take the higher ground and act as adults.

It wasn't just booing and finger salutes either. Some nimrod had a blow-up effigy of President Bush and people were throwing shoes at it. How old were these people. I am ashamed to say they were adults, some of them not so short in the tooth. BDS is a disease and we now have a president who seems to cater to it. I hope I am wrong on that point, but I certainly have not heard a word from him or anyone on his staff condemnig it either. That speaks for itself.