Rudy Needs Nuance

The Mayor Wasn't Necessarily Wrong, But He May Have lacked Nuance
The Mayor Wasn’t Necessarily Wrong, But He May Have lacked Nuance

The mainstream media is having a veritable field day over Rudolph Giuliani’s refusal to backpedal from his assertion that the President does not love the United States. There are at least two conclusions drawn from this nonsense:

 — This non-news event is yet another example of our media’s fiddling while the real world burns, and

 — Giuliani has a point, but with the benefit of hindsight, he may have expressed himself in a more nuanced manner.

 

In case any American Thinker reader has been hiding under a rock for the past week, former mayor Rudy Giuliani attended a private dinner for Governor Scott Walker at the 21 Club in New York City. One of the dinner’s attendees decided to reveal a snippet of Giuliani’s remarks to the media. (Why some people like to wreak havoc for not particularly valid reason is a question for another day.) The tasty morsel for press consumption was that during dinner, the Mayor suggested President Obama does not love our country.

For the past five days, the outrage and vitriol from the left has only been increasing in its condescending vehemence. There is at least one confounding fact behind all this apoplexy; namely, since the Mayor is not running for office, who cares? Alas, since he is a Republican, he is fodder for the mainstream media and since he so willingly has made himself a target, they are quite happy to take their shots.  In the past week, Giuliani’s assertion has even been stretched into an accusation that his remark was a reflection of his deeply rooted racism!  (See interview here)  One thing is for sure; the left will never let an opportunity go by when there is even a possibility to play the race card.

 In May 2012 this author published a book entitled “Opine Needles”.  It was (still is) a compendium of blogs chronicling the first four years of the Obama administration.  In the Prologue is written:

 “…I am absolutely convinced that President Obama does not like the United States I love.  Allow me to be very clear.  I am NOT (no incredulity there; just a raised voice) suggesting that he does not love his country.  What I’m saying is not only does he not love but he does not even LIKE the United States that I love.  There is a distinction, and hopefully, with your perusal of Opine Needles, that distinction will become clear to you.” ( See Prologue Excerpt by clicking “Look Inside” on Book Cover)

 The point here is that anyone who has followed this President and his follies for the past six years can point to countless examples where Mr. Obama’s words and actions can only lead to one conclusion.  When he looks at our country, he does not see a pillar of freedom.  Nor does he see a bastion of hope and ray of light for all mankind.  Rather, President Obama is embarrassed by our heritage and more often than not wants to retreat from all that has made us an exceptional country. (See Excerpt from Mr. Obama’s “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that” speech)

If Mr. Giuliani had nuanced his comments to follow the Opine Needles thought process, (either that night or during the ensuing kerfuffle,) all this may have been much ado about nothing.  After all, even the nattering nabobs on the left cannot argue that beauty isn’t in the eye of the beholder. The real problem lies in the fact that the United States some of us hold dear and view as exceptional appears to be that which our President finds lamentable.

Many of us tell our children that while our love for them may be permanent and unconditional, that does not mean we have to like them all the time.  Mr. Obama would do well to apply that philosophy to the country that elected him (twice) to be its President.