"Each petty slight by Boehner is one more chip away at respect for the presidency."

[jefferson_dem]

Obama’s fight — for respect
By Jonathan Capehart

Yeah, yeah. In the grand scheme of things, the kerfuffle over the timing of President Obama’s jobs speech before a joint session of Congress is the perfect slow-news-day story that has little resonance outside the confines of the Washington Beltway. It’s the kind of thing news and political junkies chew over when there’s nothing else to do during summer’s last gasp.

Still, the hard-core move by Obama to address the nation before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 7 — the same night as a Republican presidential debate — resonated with me and more than a few others around the country because of what it symbolized. A willingness by the president to fight. But when House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) issued his honey-coated push back over the date, I and others said (ok, demanded) the president should deliver his speech on the day of his choosing. For me, this was not a demand rooted in politics. It was rooted in weariness at the ongoing lack of respect for the presidency and this president.

As Jim Downie pointed out in his excellent post last night, Boehner’s rejection of Obama’s joint-session request is unprecedented. Mind you, this isn’t the first time this speaker thumbed his nose at this president. During one of the most dramatic moments of the debt-ceiling talks, Obama called Boehner twice to follow up on a conversation about additional revenue in the grand bargain they’d been negotiating in secret. He was told the speaker was unavailable. And then there was Boehner’s offensive response on “Meet The Press” to questions about the persistent lie that Obama was a closet Muslim who wasn’t born in the United States. “As the speaker of the House, as the leader,” he was asked by moderator David Gregory, “Do you not think it’s your responsibility to stand up to that kind of ignorance?”

<SNIP>

When George W. Bush was president, harsh things were said all the time by congressional Democrats and their leaders. Some even crossed the line.Yet, while there was disdain for the man in the Oval Office, respect for the office itself was never in doubt. I seriously worry that it’s in doubt now among some Republicans. Each petty slight by Boehner is one more chip away at respect for the presidency.

In Obama, we have a president more grounded and comfortable in his own skin than many of the people he has to work with to govern this country. He’s bigger than most of us. So the petty slights that get a lot of us riled up probably don’t register to him. He’s a thinker and plotter with his eyes on the prize down the road, not the daily hysteria taking place on the road to get there. That’s why I’m praying that when the real fight comes, the president will show Republicans — and the American people — that he’s not the pushover they believe him to be.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/obamas-fight--for-respect/2011/03/04/gIQAmrHLuJ_blog.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. I feel the same way as Mr. Capehart. Mostly just sad. A little angry

that Obama's staff can't seem to understand that Obama will simply not get the same respectful treatment afforded past Presidents. They need to work around this, instead of giving Boner the opportunity to diminish him.

[stubtoe]

2. Yes, there needs to be a new paradigm. Not sure how much they can

actually do about it though.

In a way, it's an object study to the rest of the country. We see what is going on; it's racism and it's ugly. I predict this will continue to hurt the R's in the public eye.

[JNinWB]

5. It's Obama's fault that Boehner loathes him!

If Obama would just resign, everything would be all better. Got it.

[Mr Deltoid]

6. He is getting the same due respect Clinton got from them

Zero zilch zip none nada

Isn't the two party system just lovely?

[TwilightGardener]

7. Really? They refused a joint session of Congress request from Clinton?

[Mr Deltoid]

9. They did far worse

And they did it far more systematically, going over every detail of his life going back 30 years. They were advertising on the radio looking for women who were willing to say they had sex with him. Then there was that land deal in which they lost $20k...

[jenmito]

8. He's getting LESS respect than Clinton-even from his fellow Dems. n/t

[Mr Deltoid]

10. Clinton got no respect from them, not an iota

Not sure it is possible to have less than none.

[demigoddess]

3. all part of their plan to get total control

of the government. Today Obama tomorrow the next democratic president.

[Leontius]

4. Maybe, maybe not, hopefully the next Democratic President

will have a pair or at least act like he does occasionally.