I can’t resist commenting on one of the non-issues of the day. Sarah Palin and other conservative pundits are down on President Obama for returning a serviceman’s salute by merely raising his arm with a latte in hand. I would remind anyone bothered by this gesture that, while Obama is the commander-in-chief of our military, he is not in the military. That’s the way it works in this country. Our military answers to civilian authority, and Obama is the civilian at the top of the civilian chain of command. As a civilian, he has not been taught to render a proper salute, nor is he required to return a serviceman or woman’s salute in kind. In fact, I would argue that it’s inappropriate for any president to do so—again, because the President of the United States is a civilian and is not in the military per se. On the other hand, I believe it would be rude for a president not to acknowledge a salute in some fashion. That’s just common courtesy. And that’s what Obama did. He didn’t ignore the salute. He acknowledged it, and that is good enough for me. There are legitimate reasons aplenty to criticize Obama, but his latte salute is not one of them.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 18:08:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015