Today’s minor pundit upset is over the President’s choice to NOT attend the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Sesquicentennials are important milestones. The Gettysburg Address is one of the few speeches that the everyday American knows at least a part of. It was a rather important moment.
As stated in Wikipedia:
Abraham Lincoln’s carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations that day, came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In just over two minutes, Lincoln reiterated the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and proclaimed the Civil War as a struggle for the preservation of the Union sundered by the secession crisis, with “a new birth of freedom,” that would bring true equality to all of its citizens] Lincoln also redefined the Civil War as a struggle not just for the Union, but also for the principle of human equality
Lincoln was from Illinois, as is Obama. Obama has many times tried to cloak himself with the mantle of greatness that is Lincoln’s legacy. He likes to compare himself to Lincoln as often as he can. Also, Obama is known to favor attending big events and making speeches, and if he can make the event “about Obama” all the more wonderful that would be! Why the heck WOULDN’T he go? It just seems an odd choice.
So, a few pundits asked that very question, via twitter. They chose to ask the President’s advisor, Dan Pfeiffer.
The question: Serious question: What is on his schedule that is more important than Gettysburg anniversary?
.@pfeiffer44 @jmartNYT @jfsolnet Serious question: What is on his schedule that is more important than Gettysburg anniversary?
— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) November 19, 2013
The reply: Oh, I don’t know, there’s this whole website thing that someone suggested might destroy the Dem Party
@ron_fournier @jmartNYT @jfsolnet Oh, I don't know, there's this whole website thing that someone suggested might destroy the Dem Party
— J. Goldman -Archived (@Goldman44) November 19, 2013
Note that…the reply is snarky rather than respectful, juvenile rather than adult. Does he really mean to imply that Obama is coding on the website? Really??? And note that his concern is for the Democrat Party, he mentions the harm that the damaged website would do to a political party, rather than any kind of effect on the American people.
Dan Pfeiffer is not a paid Democrat Party official. He is Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor. He is on the staff of the White House. Paid $172,200 of our tax dollars every year. He is supposed to represent the White House, as the Executive Branch of the Government of the ENTIRE United States.
His boss, Barack Obama, has behaved for many years as if he is only concerned about himself, and secondarily the Democrat Party. This attitude is clearly widely held in all of his staff. Republicans and Libertarians have long complained that we are not represented as Americans, that the nation has been further polarized along political party lines at every turn.
I have seen nothing to contradict that complaint.
These casual off-the-cuff remarks from the Senior Advisor in fact CONFIRM my opinion that they see themselves as representing only the Democrats.