I believe America is a noble country. I believe it is a blessed country. I believe it has done far more wonderful things than bad. I believe, because of its greatness, millions of people have chosen to break the law in order to come here illegally and millions continue to wait on line to enter it legally. I’ve never heard of an American exodus, although Alec Baldwin did say he was going to leave the country if President Bush got elected – which by the way, Mr. Baldwin never did. Because of its greatness, millions of people have been liberated around the world. In my opinion, the United States is an exceptional nation.
So when I hear the President apologizing for what he believes have been its mistakes, it’s not only something I don’t get but it infuriates me.
Just one week after his inauguration, President Obama chose Arab television, Al Arabiya, to give his first sit-down interview and said “… America was not born as a colonial power,” he told the Arab viewing audience – implying we are now. And he regretfully confessed, “We sometimes make mistakes. We are not perfect.”
In 2009 he went on his European “Apologize for America Tour.”
At the G-20 Summit in London, he said, “I would like to think that with my election and the early decisions that we’ve made, that you’re starting to see some restoration of America’s standing in the world.”
A day later in Strasbourg, he said, “There have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” And further said, “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.” In other words, no country is truly exceptional.
Apologizing for “certain interrogation practices,” he said in that same speech, “I don’t believe that there is a contradiction between our security and our values. And when you start sacrificing your values, when you lose yourself, then over the long term that will make you less secure” implying that we had lost our way.
How about when he spoke in Ankara in April 2009 and said, “The United States is still working through some of our own darker periods in our history.”
Then, during the same month, in Trinidad and Tobago, he said, “While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms.”
This past March, President Obama, apparently embarrassed by our country’s exceptionalism, refused to allow our flag to fly in Haiti even though France’s, Britain’s and Croatia’s flags flapped in the wind and even though our contributions dwarfed the rest of the world’s.
Then, of course, you have the President in May apologizing to Mexican President Calderon when he said Arizona’s Immigration Law was “a misdirected expression of frustration.”
Also in May, during talks about human rights with China, of all countries, the State Department raised examples of problems on American soil and cited Arizona’s Immigration Law as an example of “racial discrimination.”
Was President Obama apologizing for the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima when he sent the U.S. Ambassador to Japan to the 65th anniversary of the attack this month, something no other President had ever done?
And, let’s not forget his backing of the Ground Zero mosque, basically apologizing for the 70% of Americans who oppose the building of it at that location. Yes, we get it, Mr. President, the owners of the property have the right to build it – why didn’t you comment on its appropriateness?
Now, every time I see President Obama about to make a speech, I envision him tapping his chest with his fist and his teleprompter displaying the words, “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.”
After these countless apologies to every one in the world, I don’t get why we never hear him apologize directly to the American people for breaking his campaign promises.
“Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” I’m sure you all remember that mantra.
Well, he’s already broken that promise. He and the Democrats have enacted into law gross tax increases totaling more than $670 billion. The list of tax increases includes at least 14 violations of the President’s campaign pledge. If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourselves here.
According to his recent sleight of hand trick, the punishment for non-compliance with Obamacare will no longer be considered a “penalty” but will be re-designated a “tax.” Anticipating attacks on its constitutionality, the Justice Department now says the requirement for people to carry insurance or pay the penalty is “a valid exercise” of Congress’s power to impose taxes.
And don’t be surprised if we see a European-style VAT enacted before the end of this Presidency.
How about his promise to bring “transparency” to government? He promised to create an unprecedented level of openness in government. Does anyone remember the partisan closed-door sessions in Congress during the health care debate?
And what about his promise to keep earmarks to less than $7.8 billion a year, the level they were at before 1994. In February, Taxpayers for Common Sense released its study of congressional earmarking for fiscal year 2010, and appropriations bills contained 9,499 congressional earmarks worth $15.9 billion.
He also promised to give the public five days to look online and find out what he planned to sign into law. Well, he signed the 1,000 page $767 billion stimulus bill one day after it passed through Congress.
And the list goes on and on.
So, Mr. President, you find it very easy to apologize to the world for what you perceive to be America’s mistakes. How about expressing some of that regret to the American people for breaking your own promises?
I never bought in to what Sarah Palin aptly calls President Obama’s “hope-y change-y thing” so none of this surprises me. I just don’t get why he has to apologize to every Tom, Dick and Harry around the world for my great country.
And, if you do, God bless you.
