Lol --'Dog bites man,' said Bill Burton, Mr. Obama’s deputy press secretary.'

[quiet.american]

And in other news, the sky is blue --

Obama Assailed on Wreath Laying
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

President Obama’s long holiday weekend in Chicago is creating a ruckus among his conservative critics, who are accusing him of skipping out on the traditional Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Ceremony – a yearly ritual for his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Mr. Obama plans to attend a Memorial Day ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill., while Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will lay the customary wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington.

But the president’s trip to Chicago –- he and his family were headed there on Thursday — has riled some conservative pundits, whose comments have been gathered by Media Matters for America, a Web site dedicated to “correcting conservative information.’’ Glenn Beck said on his radio program that he is “sick and tired of people believing the lie’’ that Mr. Obama “has respect for the soldiers,’’ the site reported.

The White House dismissed the criticism. “Dog bites man,’’ said Bill Burton, Mr. Obama’s deputy press secretary.

[Cha]

1. I was going to OP this closer to Memorial Day but this

is a good place to post it now.

Vice President Joe Biden is quite capable and an excellent representative of our country to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington..especially since his son Beau is a Capt in the Military..




"Reagan and George H.W. Bush both had representatives lay wreaths on Memorial Day"

May 25, 2010 1:09 pm ET - by Todd Gregory

"Right-wing media figures are suggesting that President Obama's plan to participate in a Memorial Day event in Chicago and have Vice President Joe Biden lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery is unprecedented and a sign of disrespect to the military. In fact, both Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush had representatives lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier."

In 1983, President Reagan had Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Thayer represent him at the ceremony. A May 30, 1983, Washington Post article reported (from Nexis):

The official commemoration of Memorial Day will take place at Arlington today at 11 a.m. when Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Thayer, representing President Reagan, will lay a wreath at the tomb. A plaque representing the unidentified dead from the Vietnam war will be dedicated and placed at the shrine at 11 a.m."

http://mediamatters.org/print/blog/201005250034

This is something written on another site that I thought was quite pertinent..

"Are the veterans of the wars who are laid to rest at The Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Chicago somehow less heroic or had they served less than those buried at Arlington? Was their blood less brave, less red or less precious? Should President Obama be held in contempt because he chooses to honor fallen vets and stage the ceremony for doings so in an American city other than D.C.? What difference does it make if he chooses to honor the fallen in service in any other American city? Isn’t this the United States of America? Are the families who lost their loved ones in Chicago somehow less deserving of Presidential honor than those in D.C.." by Will

[quiet.american]

2. Great post, Cha -- thanks! nt

[JohnnyLib2]

5. Let's keep this one alive.through tomorrow.

:kick:

[Cha]

6. Yes, thank you, JohnnyLib!

[goclark]

3. Have they ever "fact checked"a lie they spread?

Unreal!

[Cha]

4. This needs to be kicked up

for Memorial Day tomorrow. :hi: