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Have read and listened to viscious bashing of the President since about the early 1990s when Clinton was in office. Began in the very beginning with the White House Travel Office scandal and proceeded from there. Although I do note the withdrawl from Somalia was agreed to after the battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) episode.
Does it go further into the past than that era?
I do not recall this with Ronald Reagan even with the Iran-Contra Hearings or Jimmy Carter with the killer rabbit, Iran Mission Failure, or Playboy interview. Folks made pleasant fun of presidential foibles as in Gerald Foster stumbling here-there but no attempt was made to make the man incompetent for office or unpatriotic as it is now. It makes it appear as if disregarding the President is patriotic and the President's actions are malevolent to the USA.
I don't believe the office of the President has been disrespected by anyone other than those who have occupied it. The President himself must earn the respect and trust of those he serves. It is not disrespectful of the office to be disrespectful of an occupant who has either betrayed trust or failed to earn respect.
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The American people (at large) have never respected the office of presidency. As early as the "Whiskey Rebellion", president's were told to @#$%-off by various segments of it's citizenry. To disrespect politicians (and presidents) is as American as apple pie.
Have read and listened to viscous bashing of the President since about the early S when Clinto was in office. Began in the very beginning with the White House Travel Office scandal and proceeded from there. Although I do note the withdrawl from Somalia was agreed to after the battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) episode.
Does it go further into the past than that era?
I do not recall this with Ronald Reagan even with the Iran-Contra Hearings or Jimmy Carter with the killer rabbit, Iran Mission Failure, or Playboy interview. Folks made pleasant fun of presidential foibles as in Gerald Foster stumbling here-there but no attempt was made to make the main incompetent for office or unpatriotic as it is now. It makes it appear as if disregarding the President is patriotic and the President's actions are malevolent to the USA.
Disrespect for the president is as old as the presidency.
Love to hear something said about Obama that wasn't far worse when directed at Bush.
I also think that many people still have 'respect' for the 'office', but no respect for the President himself if he is not of that person's particular political party. To such people, whether the man himself is an effective president is beside the point.
I recall that President Johnson certainly was disparaged by many, many people. "Hey, Hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kills today" was one popular slogan that was shouted anytime he appeared in public. Indeed, he declined to run for office in 1968. Probably a wise choice on his part.
There have always been some Americans who have disrespected the President and the office. It's not new. Technology, though, has provided those Americans with new venues to exhibit their disrespect. And I think also, because of technology, that a lot of respect for privacy is gone. People who will go on national TV to humiliate themselves and showcase their dysfunctionality are people who will also intrude on everyone else's privacy. People who make it their mission to "out" people are not people who respect privacy. And the sad thing is that privacy is foundational to freedom. Our society is knocking over boundary after boundary. It's not the government's intrusion on privacy that we should fear. It's the neighbor and his I-phone who's willing to take video of you and post it on the web. The people who feel entitled "to know" everything are a hazard to our future freedom.
Have read and listened to viscious bashing of the President since about the early 1990s when Clinto was in office. Began in the very beginning with the White House Travel Office scandal and proceeded from there. Although I do note the withdrawl from Somalia was agreed to after the battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) episode.
Does it go further into the past than that era?
I do not recall this with Ronald Reagan even with the Iran-Contra Hearings or Jimmy Carter with the killer rabbit, Iran Mission Failure, or Playboy interview. Folks made pleasant fun of presidential foibles as in Gerald Foster stumbling here-there but no attempt was made to make the man incompetent for office or unpatriotic as it is now. It makes it appear as if disregarding the President is patriotic and the President's actions are malevolent to the USA.
My earliest political memories are from the Reagan era, and I can assure you it went on then as well. Reagan was personally blamed for the AIDs crisis, homelessness and a litany of other ills & issues.
Have read and listened to viscious bashing of the President since about the early 1990s when Clinto was in office. Began in the very beginning with the White House Travel Office scandal and proceeded from there. Although I do note the withdrawl from Somalia was agreed to after the battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) episode.
Does it go further into the past than that era?
I do not recall this with Ronald Reagan even with the Iran-Contra Hearings or Jimmy Carter with the killer rabbit, Iran Mission Failure, or Playboy interview. Folks made pleasant fun of presidential foibles as in Gerald Foster stumbling here-there but no attempt was made to make the man incompetent for office or unpatriotic as it is now. It makes it appear as if disregarding the President is patriotic and the President's actions are malevolent to the USA.
LOL, politics is a tough business, with plenty of sharp elbows being thrown. It has ALWAYS been this way. Do not confuse disrespect for the person for disrespect for the office. You can hold the person in low esteem while holding the office in high esteem.
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