Posted on 10/17/2009 4:10:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
COLLEGE STATION — Our president, navigating through a difficult rookie year, on Friday made his first trip to our state since he got the gig in January.
Barack Obama came to College Station to honor George H.W. Bush on the 20th anniversary of the ex-president's "Points of Light" speech that sparked a volunteer effort that has helped countless folks.
So nice. A Democratic president and an ex-GOP president ignoring party differences for a day.
The event crossed generations. It bridged racial divide. And it reminded us that the folks who really play politics for keeps know there's a time to give it a rest.
Such a warm event. Such good vibes. And, for some people, such a good opportunity to remind everybody that Obama is a communist hell-bent on destroying America.
"I absolutely do," protester Kris Perry of Dallas said when asked if she thinks Obama is a socialist. "I think he's a communist."
The designated protest area was populated by the usual gaggle of folks claiming Obama is a communist and a fascist, which is akin to being an Aggie and a Longhorn.
There's something about political discourse that brings out the worst in some of us. Neither side has a monopoly on unreasonableness on this front.
When George W. Bush was president, his supporters were inside his events and the protesters — many sincere, many sincerely fringe — were outside.
Sometimes protests are orchestrated weeks in advance. Sometimes they are spontaneous. As a White House correspondent, I saw plenty of folks raise a single finger in celebration of their First Amendment right as the George W. Bush presidential limo rolled by.
I guess there's something deeply satisfying about such a futile gesture.
Friday's anti-Obama protesters showed up despite the elder Bush's appeal to put a lid on politics for a day when the message was about respect for volunteer service.
"This is not about politics," Bush said in a letter in the local paper. "This is about the importance of service to our communities and our country. I cannot wait for President Obama to experience the open, decent and welcoming Aggie spirit for himself."
The Obama protesters also couldn't wait, showing up hours before the event.
Don Cowden of Tomball, holding up an unflattering caricature of Obama, was aware of Bush's appeal for civility.
"Rush Limbaugh read it on our way up here. I don't care what (Bush) says. This is the only time (Obama) is going to come to Texas, and he needs to know how Texans feel about him. We don't like him. We want him gone," Cowden said.
Larry and Maria Mayes of Deer Park brought signs ("Obama Lies, Grandma Dies" and " Somewhere in Kenya there is a village without an idiot") and handcrafted Nobel Peace Prizes of their own design.
"We figured that because Obama got one without doing anything then we'll hand out a bunch of them too," Larry Mayes said. "We have about as much clout as the people over there in Denmark, so why not?"
It's the people over there in Norway who dole out Nobel Peace Prizes, but we get the point.
The Mayeses launched into talk about Obama and Hitler and Castro and Hugo Chávez and taking over industries and loss of rights.
"The next thing he did," Larry said of Castro, "was wipe out the press, which will take care of your job."
At this point, let me respectfully note that the press has been pretty successful doing away with its own jobs without help from a tyrannical central government.
Like others at the protest site, Perry said she loves the Bushes but had no problem ignoring the elder ex-president's admonition. She defended her right to express her views "and not be attacked for it."
I countered with the notion that folks who disagree with her have the right to challenge her.
No, she said, that's not what she's talking about.
"They can say they disagree with me, but don't come after my family or peer into my tax records or that sort of thing. But that's what happens," she said.
Funny, that's what the anti-Bush protesters used to say happened to them when they dissented from the administration line.
The voice of reason at the protest site came from A&M senior Nathan Favero of Denver, who doesn't like much about Obama's policies.
But on Friday, Favero's sign said, "Today's not about politics, it's about service."
He told me he'd be protesting Obama if the president was here for a political event. But Friday, he noted, was about service, "something all of us Aggies can unite around and we can stand up for."
Are we in trouble when the college kids make more sense than the grown-ups?
Gig 'em, Nathan.
Unless the service includes indoctrination. These people have made me very cynical.
I wish these people would learn how to write
Typical lib reporter, put this putz back on the obits.
“Dissent is patriotic until it’s my guy in power” PING
LOL I see he is making stuff up just like the people did with Rush.
I thought the Obammy had already decreed that all the youth would “give a year of service to their country.” Why does he need to talk about it anymore?
Does anyone have pictures of the protestors? I am proud of the Aggies for demonstrating that Texas can’t be fooled.
Did “project can you hear us now” reach austin?
Funny, that's what the anti-Bush protesters used to say happened to them when they dissented from the administration line.
I'd like for this puke to show me one time when a lib was abused in such a way for venting his rabid spleen because George Bush continued breathing, as they have for the last 8 years.
God bless EVERY one of the protesters who showed up!
The Obamunist must be protested at his every appearance!
And, Dear President G.H.W. Bush - it is NOT about politics...it is about our country! Americans who see our country being force marched into some communist’s dream of what the USSA can be under a Marxist, Maoist, Stalinist style regime have every right - and even duty - to stand up and oppose it and to oppose the ONE who is forcing us there!
“I wish these people would learn how to write “
Most liberals, journalists and reporters and TV anchors, couldn’t diagram a sentence if their life depended on it. They haven’t got a clue as to what a ‘subject’ is in a sentence.
“...couldn’t diagram a sentence if their life depended on it...”
They don’t think independently either. They’re a bunch of goosestepping thugs, as pathological as they come.
IMHO
Too bad none of these protesters that spoke with this reporter, pointed out they were volunteering to stand up for this country, against the dangerous policies of this administration.
Second, the line that stuck out to me is,
I guess there's something deeply satisfying about such a futile gesture.
While I understand the author was referring to a different kind of protest, it is interesting that he categorizes it as a futile gesture.
I heard on the news that O was not going to show up. Maybe he put that out hoping the protestors wouldn’t show.
I notice this guy starts out by saying both sides are wrong it’s only the coservative protestors that he makes fun of.
“They can say they disagree with me, but don’t come after my family or peer into my tax records or that sort of thing. But that’s what happens,” she said.
Funny, that’s what the anti-Bush protesters used to say happened to them when they dissented from the administration line. >>>>>>>>>
How many proven attacks on civilians who disagreed with Bush can prove they were really attacked, the attack against Joe the Plummer was proven to be orchestrated by the Obama/DNC campaign/public employee supporters.
honestly with the never ending carping by the media against Bush this is one thing I really don’t recall. But perhaps it was there but they were to busy carping more loudly about something else? I won’t say it didn’t happen, but just that I don’t really recall.
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