Conservatives Criticizing Obama for Paris Photo-op Forget...

[Zacha341]

Conservatives Criticizing Obama for Paris Photo-op Forget World Hates Their Foreign Policy [[Dailykos.com)
It’s not surprising that conservatives have jumped on the Obama administration for sending ambassador to France, Jane Hartley, to the photo-op of free-press-hating world leaders [[an issue that, in all fairness, the Obama administration has its own black eyes). It’s not even surprising that a conservative has stooped to the point of making a ridiculous, childish, and brainless Hitler comparison. It’s just politics and one side will criticize the other for…anything.

What is surprising is that conservatives think the Obama administration would even want their opinion when it comes to foreign policy, particularly when it deals with Europe.... [[article continues, click headline to read in full)

From the Boston Globe: Obama let France down
America’s failure to march with world leaders against terrorism marked an embarrassing diplomatic misstep. As leaders from some 40 countries joined more than 1 million demonstrators Sunday in a solemn and extraordinary progression along the boulevards of Paris, the highest-ranking United States official on the scene was America’s ambassador to France, Jane D. Hartley — hardly a familiar face on the world stage.

And that simply wasn’t stature enough, not for a display of solidarity against violence by Islamic radicals that turned into what French officials described as the most massive rally in the history of America’s oldest ally. The numbers of marchers in other cities around the world — from Boston to Sydney — surpassed 3 million, according to news reports. Seventeen people died in the attack last week on the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a related hostage-taking at a kosher grocery, also in Paris. [[article continues, click headline to read in full)

Additionally:

White House says it erred on Paris march [?]
“It’s fair to say that we should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there,” Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said at his daily briefing with reporters at the White House.

Asked his response to critics who say a person with more prominence than the U.S. ambassador to France should have attended, he said: “We agree.” [[article continues, click headline to read in full)

[coracle]

Why should America be involved? It was workplace violence; the victims were white [[and they "asked" for it), and the criminals were French. The only error the WH made was pretending they should have been there, and the "error" will be taken as a "win" by our "friends" in North Africa.

[G-DDT]

I think there are far too many hypocrisies at work here. I think, yes, that the Charlie Hebdo massacre was atrocious, and as a [[failed) cartoonist, I respect the angle of free speech. However, since when did conservatives show a consistent stance on free speech [[think of Meese and Gabler and countless others with their "purity crusades")? Also, why do conservatives, who have gone as far as suggesting violent measures that should be implemented against the "liberal media" [[as seen from a lot of the gaff that oozes out of the commentaries on Fox news alone-that doesn't include the comment sections that co-sign them or the really crazed weblogs out there), suddenly concern themselves about an attack against a liberal-based publication? Furthermore [[ugh), since when do conservatives concern themselves with allying themselves with [[the nuke-owning, capitalist leading?) French? Didn't they feel the French were "not on their side" about aiding us to take out "Mad Dog" [[as Reagan called him) Gaddafi in the '80s or during the recent Bush-era [[remember "Freedom Fries"?)?
All I've seen were conservatives rushing to make these guys [[whose work-in all honesty-sucked, just like that hideous Seth Rogen film that suggests killing a world leader-yeah, I don't think Americans would take too lightly a whimsical Korean release talking about taking out a specific president here?) martyrs and trumpeting the cause for unbridled free speech [[the kind that allows the typical fact-twisting, evidence omitting, and spin doctoring we've seen from rabid conservative pundits), but more over, hatred for Islam. Already Belgium and Germany have been amassing formidable huge marches with anti-Islamist politics [[remember the last time Germans got together with marching pogroms gainst a certain faith?). How come I don't here about Buddhists in Myanmar attacking Muslims and brutalizing them [[despite protests from Doctors Without Borders)?
Again, I have a lot to say about this sticky wicket, and I tend to agree with what Rabbi Michael Lerner had to say on Huffington Post and Pope Francis as well. I may be politically liberal, but I'm still a Christian, so the prevailing Gospel message that can be added to "freedom of speech" is "be accountable for everything you say-for by your own words you will be judged". It's called responsibility-let's own up to it, instead of hurling fire bombs in wild directions-as the internet seems to encourage.

[Jimaz]

Conservatives criticize Obama for putting on his shoes in the wrong order.

[G-DDT]

I also want to point out that I don't recall in all fair use of critical comparatives that we had a president with such a threatened near-breech of security consistently happening compared to the previous one [[unless you consider footware as potentially dangerous projectiles-than again, the same thing occurred to Hillary Clinton). You've had mothers slamming into gates, men setting themselves on fire, people hopping fences. We don't even have the full story on most of those.
It isn't just that. Would such an incident as Joe Wilson [[who still holds office) yelling "You Lie!" during Obama's speech in 2009, fly as well during the Bush-era? Seems you got a lot of conservatives spouting out and foaming out their shame, only to say "Gee, wasn't I just joking [[or "in sport"-as Proverbs warns with fiery darts)", "Isn't it free speech?", or "We all make mistakes". Mistakes happen [[seem to happen all too much with childish ease with some from certain political affiliations who have to make apologies-like stating that "mass murderers are more likely liberal"), but we elect politicians because we "hope" they have some dignified sense of responsible candor balanced in diplomacy. Free speech still doesn't absolve one from having their attempts at expression be irresponsible, nor does it void having them be leading indicators into one's character [[setting off firecrackers around your body at a poetry reading is fine, but having dead meat drop from the ceiling and "terrorists" pop out with guns and stampeding folks-the elderly, pregnant, children-out of a facility is not "responsible expression".). Sadly, humor doesn't excuse anything. In fact, humor can [[and has, as evidenced by the racist history of Mardi Gras or the manner the folks at Bohemian Grove carry themselves) fall into the hands of the wrong folks [[consider comics by Jack Chick, Garner, Fuller, or that awful "Mallard Filmore" piece-of-snot that the Detroit News used to run). Jerry Casale [[of Devo) once said in the REsearch book "Pranks" that humor that makes victims of others [[classic "bucket of sh*t on top of doorway" type stuff) is pitifully bad at best.
There's a lot of imbalance against Obama and has been since he's been in office [[and I never even cared about where this member of the Alfalfa Club has been coming from-I think he's a Trojan Horse for Reagan-style conservatism, and I think he'll fold easily on his stance on Immigration). A drunken laid-off fool in Michigan mutters into his beer that "someone oughta' kill that sum'b*tch President Bush", and someone records it, and suddenly the N.S.A. are up this guy's buttcheeks. However, a Quran-burning "preacher" [[who doesn't know when Good Friday is) can hang an effigy of Obama in front of his church [[violent, seditious, hints of racist lynching , and an explicit expression of threat to the President), and little measures are taken to quell such things.

[coracle]

Any perceived misstep Obama may have made by ignoring the French then "rectifying" it with a serenade from Taylor and Lurch has been eclipsed for inanity by the GloZell Green interview.