R-E-S-P-E-C-T (All I’m asking for is just a little…)

By Ebbtide

Remember when it was imperative that we respect the office of the President, even if we weren’t totally wild about the occupant of that office? That seems to have been a constant theme/meme throughout the early 2000s. Ah, but that’s so “last decade” isn’t it. What could have changed? Hmmmm.

We’ll put aside the ugly cartoons, “jokes” and rabid exposés by total nutters like the “journalists” at such places as Wingut Daily and the Breitbart consortium of conspiracies. And we won’t even go into the ugly things that have been said and written about our charming First Lady and the innocent, polite Obama children.

Let’s just take a look at how Right Wing celebrities, and even elected officials have exhibited their utter disrespect for the office of the President since Barack Obama has assumed the office, and see what kinds of repercussions they have suffered as a result.

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON!

Right-wing celebrities, though as rare as hens’ teeth, do like to shoot their mouths off whenever possible, and no matter how vile their comments, seem to be welcomed back to the fold and nestled in wingnut warmth.

Motor City Madman? Wingnut Warrior? You decide.

That delightful creature, Ted Nugent began his charm offensive back in 2008 when, waving his guns, he said, "Hey, Obama, you mightwanna suck on one of these, you punk." He continued, "Hillary, you might wanna ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch."

NOTE: When Nugent made these comments, Obama was not yet President. I have included them merely to provide background on what a respectful person Nugent has always been.)

“The Nuge” pretty much continued his charming commentary after Mr. Obama became President, comparing Obama and his administration to coyotes, called them criminals, etc. and was rabid enough to earn a visit from the Secret Service for his rhetoric.

The result? He was lauded by the Romney family when he endorsed Mitt, earning a tweet from fanboi, Tagg:

Donald Trump—where to begin. I’m not sure how to even classify him, as, in addition to being a “celebrity,” he was actually even considering a run for the presidency. Frankly, I consider him a giant hairball, but I digress…

So how did Trump exhibit his respect for the President of the United States? First, he received widespread media opportunities to spread his ugly birtherism nonsense and made such disrespectful comments as:

“Obamaand his attack dogs have nothing but hate and anger in their heartsand spew it whenever possible.”

He calledObama a foreign candidate.

He said Obama was a "terrible student" and therefore too dumb to have legitimately gotten through college and law school.

And on it went, with a new Trump crusade every week or so, culminating in his totally obnoxious “dare” to the President of the United States to release his college transcripts.

And during all of Trump’s shenanigans, he was a fundraiser for Romney, who never once disavowed any of Trump’s ugly talk.

Then, after the election was won by Obama, this miscreant actually calledfor revolution.

No disrespect there—nah. (Oh, and Donald, maybe you should wait for the results before getting your hair all in a tizzy, as Obama won the popular vote by quite a nice margin.)

So what’s next for the Donald? Well, the hairball is still bloviating, and his ridiculous television show will once again be aired on NBC later this year. (Payback is such a bitch.)

Clint Eastwood, despite everything in his career that came before, will long be remembered for his stellar madlib at the 2012 Republican convention, when, talking to an empty chair that was supposed to represent the President of the United States, he uttered suchrespectful phrases as

“What? What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. Can't do that to himself. You're absolutely crazy.”

Repercussions? None that I’ve noticed. The wingers still think he’s the best thing going.

Hank Williams Jr. has quite a history of “respect” for the President.

(photo available, but too repulsive to post)

It began in 2008, when he was campaigning for John McCain, and said to an audience in Colorado, "Join me now in our national--you know, that song that, uh, Mr. Obama's not real crazy about, we're singing it right now."

(Again—this was before Mr. Obama became President, but is mentioned merely to set the stage.)

ESPN thought it would be a great idea to include him in their Monday night football coverage. Then, in October 2011, Williams Jr. was on Fox and Friends, saying about Obama playing golf with Boehner:

"That would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. Not hardly. In the shape this country is in?"

Even Brian Kilmeade didn’t understand what he was talking about, so Williams went on to explain (sic), "I'm glad you don't brother, because a lot of people do. They're the enemy... Obama! And Biden!” (He also referred to the two men as the Three Stooges, so apparently math is also not a strong suit.)

That, apparently was a bridge too far even for ESPN, which removed Williams from their football broadcast. But did it kill Williams career? Did country stations stop playing his music?

Of course not. Some comments at the time on Huffpo (apparently spelling and cogent thought are not strong suits of Williams’ fans):

Go Hank, I'm with ya. A country boy can survive. To celebrate, all my routy friends are comin ova tonight!

Hank williams is a real american who did nothing but express his oppinion. If you dont like it maybey your not a real american

And, just this past September, 2012, Hank Jr. was right back at it:

"We’ve got a Muslim for a President who hates cowboys, hates cowgirls, hates fishing, hates farming, loves gays, and we hate him," Williams Jr. bellowed. The Dallas Sun reported, “The crowd responded with a loud cheer.”

Victoria Jackson—OK, probably not fair to include her as a celebrity, because her career couldn’t be damaged by her idiocy since it pretty much ended years ago, but still…

Victoria says Obama is a communist and explains all that she has learned from Glenn Beck. (WARNING: Watching this video may cause a deterioration of brain cells.)

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO…

How should we classify pundits or radio yakkers? Are they celebrities or newspeople? For our purposes, we’ll just think of them as public figures, OK?

If I went into all the bile that has been spewed about the President by right wing yakkers, you’d still be reading this when it was time to vote in the 2016 election. So just a brief recap:

Neil Bortz—. Boortz stated that "Barack Obama is a bigger disaster to this country than 9-11."

Bill O’Reilly interrupted the President 48 times during a 15 minute interview.

Neil Munro interrupted Obama mid-sentence to shout out an obnoxious question

MARK HALPERIN CALLED HIM A DICK ON LIVE TV!

(He was suspended, but was right back at it shortly thereafter.)

Fox “star” Eric Bolling compared Obama to a drug dealer who opens “Barry’sPot and Coke Emporium.” When Bob Beckel was discussing Allen West, he referred to West as…well, Allen West. Without any sense or irony (or shame) Bolling came back with:

“Can I just point something out? You're calling him Allen West. Either call him Representative Allen West or call him Lieutenant Colonel Allen West because he was in the Army -- a war hero.” (NOTE: West was charged with violating articles 128 (assault) and 134 (generalarticle) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The charges were ultimately referred to an Article 15 proceeding rather than court-martial. Quite the hero.)

For further proof that Bolling is a total tool, during another conversation between Bolling and Beckel, Bolling referred to Obama as "Barry." When Beckel objected, Bolling replied: "That's his name, right? Barack. Barry Soetoro. I think he called himself Barry Soetoro when he was a model in college."

At other times, Bolling has called the President Comrade Obama, The Socialist Spewing Policy Maker and accused him of chugging 40's" and hosting "a hoodlum in the Hizzouse."

So respectful of the Presidency, right? And Bolling’s still going strong as we speak.

Glenn Beck has of course, always showed total deference to the President, withsuch comments as "I don't know what the KGB handlers thought they were sending Barack Obama to do. ... Did I say that out loud?"

And calling our President “a racist with deep-seated hatred for whitepeople.”

Now, Glenn did lose his show on Fox, but there were so many reasons for his shedding advertisers that I don’t think we can necessarily attribute that to his disrespect of the President.

And then there’s Rush Limbaugh—where to start. From his “Barack the Magic Negro” song to “I want this president to fail” the hits just kept on coming. And, although Limbaugh continuously inspires fear and loathing (fear from right wingers that he’ll hurt their careers; loathing from sentient humans everywhere) it was his disrespect for Sandra Fluke that created far more backlash than any of the ugly things he’s said about the President.

OATH OF OFFICE OR OAFS IN OFFICE?

Are you thinking to yourself, “Well, those are just some big-mouthed yakkers. What can you expect?” (I don’t believe you ARE thinking that, but merely included it for conversation’s sake.)

Well then, let’s see what some of our fine elected and wishing-to-be-elected officials have had to say about our President.

We’ll begin with everybody’s hero, Addison Graves Wilson, Sr., better known as Joe Wilson, the South Carolina rep who infamously yelled, “You lie!” during an Obama 2009 address to Congress. What could possibly be more respectful than an actual member of Congress shouting at the President on live, prime-time television?

RESULT—Wilson used his obnoxious outburst as a fund-raising device and raised a ton of cash. In 2010, he won re-election with 53% of the vote and in 2012, he ran unopposed.

Allen West—without comment, some of Allen West’s words.

Always a hit at CPAC

“We need to let President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and my dear friend the chairman of the Democrat National Committee, we need to let them know that Florida ain't on the table.

“Take your message of equality of achievement, take your message of economic dependency, take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else. You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America.”

Watch:

Hey, at least he called him PRESIDENT Obama when telling him to get the hell out of the country.

A few “outliers”:

KansasHouse Speaker Mike O’Neal publicly cited a Bible verse calling for President Obama to be killed, his wife to be widowed, and his children to be orphaned. (He’s also the swell guy who forwarded an email to state house Republicans referring to the First Lady as “Mrs. YoMamma.”)

Marilyn Davenport, Orange County, CA Republican Central Committee, forwardedan email of a doctored photo of the President and his parents asmonkeys.

ColoradoCongressman Doug Lamborn said during a radio interview that he didn’t “even want to have to be associated with … (President Obama). It’s like touching a tar baby …”

And on it goes.

Respect? How about John Boehner?

On August 31, 2011 Boehner became the first speaker in history to tell a sitting president that he would not be permitted to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress on the date specifically requested by the White House

As Rachel Maddow described it:

“Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner did something that has never before been done in the history of our nation: he said no. He said it would be inconvenient for the House, because, he said, there were votes scheduled in the House for Wednesday night.”

“This is unprecedented,” she added. “No speaker, no Congress, has ever said that to any president in U.S. history.”

The votes Boehner felt were so important: a roll call vote on letting the Special Olympics conduct a torch run in Washington, D.C., and speeches congratulating a girls’ softball team on reaching the world championships.

Even the lack of title used when they talk about PRESIDENT Obama is disrespectful, as Howard Fineman once pointed out:

“They don’t accept the President’s legitimacy in many ways. I have never heard Newt Gingrich call President Obama ‘President Obama.’ It’s usually just ‘Obama.’

“And I know that sounds like a trivial thing,” Fineman added, “but it’s not. It’s very important.”

AND THEN THERE’S JAN BREWER

TIME TRAVELING

Yes, I think we can all see how perilous and dangerous it has been for wingers to hurl invective after invective at our President. Oh, it’s true that Allen West lost re-election, and Rush lost some sponsors, but overall, they’ve gotten away with some heinous things and kept on going.

Compare them to a simple 16-word statement made by Natalie Maines in 2003 and then compare the repercussions.

After expressing that she was against the upcoming invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chick had the audacity to say, “Just so you know, we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”

And what happened?

Dixie Chicks Boycotted on Country Radio

As WDAF-AM in Kansas City, Missouri, encouraged listeners to toss their Dixie Chicks CDs into garbage cans set up outside their studio. The Dixie Chicks were dropped from WTDR-FM in Talladega, Alabama.

In Shreveport, Louisiana, protestors used a tractor to smash CDs and other Dixie Chicks items. The local country station, KRMD-FM, subsequently dropped all Dixie Chicks songs. The same goes for KIZN-FM in Boise, Idaho - and that's just a small sampling.

Limbaugh called for a boycott, Free Republic set up a special page to coordinate boycotts. After Maines called Toby Keith’s “we’ll put a boot in your ass” song ignorant (truer words were never spoken), Keith began displaying a backdrop at his concerts showing a doctored photo of Maines and Saddam Hussein. (Aw, she hurt the big guy’s fee fees.) It was a groundswell of grassroots hate for the Chicks (think Tea Party.)

Paul Krugman had some other ideas about how the boycott tied in with the war cheerleading and got so HUGE.

One of the most striking (pro-war events) took place after Natalie Maines, lead singer for the Dixie Chicks, criticized President Bush: a crowd gathered in Louisiana to watch a 33,000-pound tractor smash a collection of Dixie Chicks CD's, tapes and other paraphernalia… (my note: This was a Cumulus radio station event.)

Who has been organizing those pro-war rallies? The answer, it turns out, is that they are being promoted by key players in the radio industry -- with close links to the Bush administration…

Most of the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and increasingly dominates the airwaves.

The boycott of the Chicks was even a main feature of the Congressional hearings about radio consolidation.

At times likening the embargo to Nazi book-burnings and McCarthy-era blacklists, lawmakers said Cumulus' action illustrated the potential danger of allowing corporations to amass nationwide broadcasting networks.

Back in 2003, when John McCain still had some of his marbles, he said:

"It's a strong argument about what media concentration has the possibility of doing," McCain told Cumulus Chairman Lewis W. Dickey Jr. "If someone else offends you, and you decide to censor those people, my friend, the erosion of our 1st Amendment is in progress."

The Chicks suffered greatly for those 16 words. Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about what happened to them before, during and after those words were spoken. Directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecila Peck (Gregory Peck’s daughter), I highly recommend it.

The Dixie Chicks Not Ready To Make Nice was their rebuttal/explanation of what happened, and it won three Grammy Awards-- Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2007. But the climb back was certainly hard…

On Thursday, October 27, 2011, at 5:49 a.m., Kicks 101.5 played “Cowboy Take Me Away.” This is the first time in years the country trio has been heard on a regular basis on Atlanta radio.

Kicks’ move wouldn’t be so momentous without context…The Dixie Chicks were one of the top country acts from 1998 to 2003, with 14 top 10 country hits, from “Goodbye Earl” to “Ready to Run.” Prior to the boycott, from 1998 to 2003, Kicks played the Chicks a whopping 16,000 times. That’s almost two consecutive months of Chicks songs.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY?

If you’re a right-wing mouthpiece of the entertainment, talk-show or political ilk, you have pretty wide latitude to say and do whatever you like in disrespecting the President, but if you’re the number one selling female band of all time, you’d better watch your Ps, Qs (and Ws) at all times.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take care, TCB

The New Era of Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States

by Sunnyjane

Renaissance

The role of First Lady is undefined, unpaid, and -- too frequently -- unappreciated.  It has, in some instances, been exploited or neglected by First Ladies who obviously had neither the courage, the conviction, nor the imagination to mold the position into one that fits their passions and makes a significant impact on the lives of Americans.  Some, like Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosalynn Carter, and Hillary Clinton, chose to be what could be called Power First Ladies.  Mrs. Roosevelt took on the role of eyes, ears, and legs for her crippled husband, while Mrs. Carter regularly sat in on President Carter's staff meetings, and Mrs. Clinton fought hard for health care during President Clinton's first term in office.

There is a certain irony that Jackie Kennedy, the first First Lady born in the Twentieth Century, followed Mamie Eisenhower, the last First Lady born in the Nineteenth Century.  It is significant because their contrasts in styles differed dramatically.  Jackie Kennedy  exemplified the Twentieth Century by being better educated, more worldly, and more fashionable than any of the First Ladies before her.   

Mamie Doud married Dwight David Eisenhower when she was nineteen and he was twenty-five.  She lived her entire adult life as a military wife, living in twenty-eight different homes and many foreign countries.

While Mamie Eisenhower's cause was her husband -- and herself --  Jackie Kennedy took on the refurbishment of the White House furnishings.  She is solely responsible for bringing many of the mansion's former pieces back to their origins through her connections to famous old families and, she freely admitted, by badgering people to donate furniture to her project.   Mrs. Kennedy was also adamant that her children would be protected from the press and have normal childhoods to the degree possible.   

The White House years were not kind to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.   Less than three months after the premature birth of her second son, and his death two days later from infant respiratory distress syndrome,  her husband was assassinated.



A New Age of First Ladies

While Laura Bush was the First Lady of the new millennium, the important causes she sponsored -- education and women's heart health awareness, among others -- failed to engender a national response for which she will be remembered.

The wife of the forty-third president left the White House with a popularity rating twice that of her husband.  Quite frankly, given the disastrous presidency of George Bush, that would not have been a difficult, um, mission to accomplish.

While President Bush received much well-deserved criticism during his administration, Mrs. Bush escaped that fate.  Her successor, unfortunately, has not been afforded the same respect.

One hundred and forty-three years after the official end of slavery in the United States, an African American descendent of that blight on the nation's history stepped across the threshold of the White House as First Lady.  The significance of that fact could not have escaped the wife of the new President, but she did not dwell on it.  Michelle Obama had a more urgent issue to address.

Her priority, as she stated many times between the election of Barack Obama on November 4 and Inauguration Day, was the transition of the couple's two daughters to their new home, school, city, and positions as First Daughters.  To aid in this endeavor, she brought the First Granny, Mrs. Marian Robinson, with the family to Washington.

Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009

The physical changeover (called "flipping") of the Residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue from outgoing First Family to incoming First Family must take place within a six-hour time frame.  As well coordinated as an oft-rehearsed  military exercise, a trained and handpicked team at the Mansion are at their battle stations, and as soon as the doors close on the soon-to-be-former First Family, they go into action.  As the departing moving van starts down the circular driveway, the arriving family's moving van takes its place.  Not a minute is wasted.  By the time the new First Family arrives after the official swearing-in ceremony, luncheon, and parade, their personal possessions, including any furniture they have brought, have been installed in the designated rooms, their clothing unpacked and hung in their respective closets, beds have been made, books, pictures, and photographs have been appropriately placed, and staff is on hand to assist where needed.  A new family now occupies the Second Floor of the most recognized landmark in America, and perhaps the world: The White House.

Renegade, Rosebud, Renaissance, and Radiance
(Secret Service Code Names)

There She Goes!

Once assured that seven-year-old Sasha, ten-year-old Malia, and Granny were happy and comfortable in their new situation, the Princeton-educated First Lady was ready to carve out an active role for herself in her husband's administration.

In so doing, she has become not an extension of Barack Obama, but a willing and able partner in his determination to be a president who works in the best interest of all Americans.  And, whether planned or not, she became an unofficial and charming ambassador for his endeavors to restore the country's tarnished reputation around the world.  

Acutely aware of the nation's childhood obesity crisis, Michelle Obama championed, as one of her major projects, healthy nutrition and exercise programs to encourage better eating habits and getting-fit/staying fit activities for young Americans.  She did not intend to be a First Lady who gave a well-attended speech for her projects, then disappear and let others do the heavy lifting.  Less than two months after the inauguration, she started planting a garden on the South Lawn of the White House and invited children in the city to help; then she invited them back at harvest time so they could experience the fruits of their labors, so to speak.  She also got the wholehearted support of the White House kitchen staff, who were excited about the idea of fresh vegetables -- especially the herbs!

     

 

 

 





 



In 2011, Mrs. Obama's first book, American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, was published.

 
The First Lady did not accept an advance on her book, and all proceeds are being given to charity.

Far-Right Windbags and Total Idiots Must Speak

That sound you heard after the First Lady was so successful with her good-nutrition campaign was Big Government once again interfering in your life by trying to dictate your diet!  As sad as it may be that this post has to be sullied with, for just a sampling, the likes of Darrell Issa, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin, calling out their hypocrisy is necessary in the interest of journalistic integrity. 

After the Obamas took over the White House, Darrell Issa (R-Racistville) decided he was going to protect Mrs. Obama and future First Ladies from  -- hell, something or other -- by limiting and/or curtailing their involvement in policy making.  Strange that Issa had been there throughout the entire two-term Bush administration, and never thought of protecting Mrs. Laura Bush.

As the Poster Boy for an imminent heart attack, fat cigar-smoking leader of Dittohead Denizens Rush Limbaugh called Michelle Obama a hypocrite ... saying that, while the First Lady advocates healthy eating, she "doesn't look like [she] follows her own...dietary advice" and would never be put on the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue.  This bloviating heap of pretension called the First Lady to task for --gasp! -- eating a few barbequed spareribs while on vacation.

Sarah Palin, who is the same age as the First Lady.  
Sometimes, it does not pay to advertise!

Sarah Palin, who continues to make herself a getting-real-old joke by displaying her jealousy and bitterness against the Obamas, decided to rake over the First Lady by telling an actual lie -- I realize it's news to everyone that Sarah Palin lies -- when she said on her failed reality show that Michelle Obama doesn't want us to eat dessert and went looking for the S'mores ingredients while, ahem, camping with the family.  Yes, dear readers, Sarah Palin, whose intellectual acuity equals that of belly button lint, whose voice would put a rusty chainsaw to shame, and whose deteriorating physical appearance would scare the stink out of a skunk.

The Renaissance Woman Moves Forward

As Americans got to know the new First Lady, they became enchanted with her warmth, sincerity, intelligence, grace, strength, and -- let's face it! -- glamour!  Mrs. Obama's cheerful and welcoming Hi, I'm Michelle touched all but the rabidly jealous haters on the right, a fact which never diminished her popularity.  

But pictures are worth far more than words can convey.  Some photos of the first four years, in no particular order:

Detail of gown

Olympics, 2012, in London

 

Ladies of the First Family meet Nelson Mandela, June 2011

END NOTE

The President and First Lady of the United States

Resources

Here are several links for interesting information on First Ladies of the U.S.

Top 10 Most Influential First Ladies 

The First Ladies at the Smithsonian -- Michelle Obama: Great Expectations

List of First Ladies of the United States 

Backstairs at the White House -- The story of two African American women (Maggie Rogers and her daughter, Lillian Rogers Parks) who served as White House maids over a period spanning five decades and eight administrations—from Taft to Eisenhower. This was originally a mini-series, first airing in 1979.  It's a terrific look at those Presidents and their First Ladies.  It available from Amazon and Netflix.  

Update 

Just for fun, because we rarely see the First Daughters.  This is Malia playing tennis at Sidwell Friends, the school she and Sasha both attend.  She's "moving it!"

Update Two

Video of Michelle and Barack:  The winds of change are blowing wild and free.....