Obama's "Apology Tour"

[Bolo Boffin]

The best source for this oft-repeating propaganda line by Mitt Romney and others is from the Heritage Foundation. Here's the link:

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/06/barack-obamas-top-10-apologies-how-the-president-has-humiliated-a-superpower

This one was compiled on June 2, 2009, so there are likely other examples that conservatives like to brandish as evidence. For now, however, we can look through these ten and probably find common themes for any further "apologies."

Number one: Obama is correct about the things he states.

For example, in his speech to the Turkish Parliament, President Obama says this:

Another issue that confronts all democracies as they move to the future is how we deal with the past. The United States is still working through some of our own darker periods in our history. Facing the Washington Monument that I spoke of is a memorial of Abraham Lincoln, the man who freed those who were enslaved even after Washington led our Revolution. Our country still struggles with the legacies of slavery and segregation, the past treatment of Native Americans.

Well? Aren't we?

Do conservatives believe that we haven't had darker periods in our history? Perhaps they are unaware of the details of the massacre at Wounded Knee. And the disenfranchising of minority voters seems to have caught its second wind in this upcoming election season. Pretending these things did not happen is foolish of Mitt Romney.

Number two: the context of the president's remarks are important to consider.

Take the Turkish Parliament speech again. Barack Obama brought up the darker periods of our history to preface his remarks about the 1915 Armenian genocide by Turkey. It's an incredibly sensitive topic for the Turkish people, so much so that they fight off any actual mention of the event, especially as a genocide.

But in the middle of their Parliament, President Obama went on to say this, the very next two paragraphs:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-obama-turkish-parliament

Human endeavor is by its nature imperfect. History is often tragic, but unresolved, it can be a heavy weight. Each country must work through its past. And reckoning with the past can help us seize a better future. I know there's strong views in this chamber about the terrible events of 1915. And while there's been a good deal of commentary about my views, it's really about how the Turkish and Armenian people deal with the past. And the best way forward for the Turkish and Armenian people is a process that works through the past in a way that is honest, open and constructive.

We've already seen historic and courageous steps taken by Turkish and Armenian leaders. These contacts hold out the promise of a new day. An open border would return the Turkish and Armenian people to a peaceful and prosperous coexistence that would serve both of your nations. So I want you to know that the United States strongly supports the full normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia. It is a cause worth working towards.

Definitely on this issue, Candidate and Senator Obama wrote a check that President Obama has found difficult and thus far impossible to honor. Though he earlier stated he would call the Armenian genocide that in so many words, he has not done so yet and did not do so here.

But in his call for an "honest, open and constructive" approach to working through the past of the two countries, his meaning is clear. And he knew it would be, speaking as he does of the "commentary about my views." Diplomacy trumped candor here, but President Obama did his level best to make the Turkish government aware of a better way forward. And his own candor in acknowledging the "darker periods" of America's past could only be seen as encouragement for Turkey to be just as candid about what they had done in 1915.

Another place where context is important is the President's "apology" to France and Europe:

In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

Again, there's the plain truth of what Obama is saying. He wasn't a decade separated from the idiocy of "freedom fries."

But the context here is also key. The very next paragraphs?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-President-Obama-at-Strasbourg-Town-Hall/

But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad.

On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America.

So I've come to Europe this week to renew our partnership, one in which America listens and learns from our friends and allies, but where our friends and allies bear their share of the burden. Together, we must forge common solutions to our common problems.

Some apology. Yes, President Obama says, we've got some medicine to take here in America. Europe, don't be thinking you don't have a turn at the spoon as well.

Number three: it's interesting what they leave behind in their litany of "apologies".

A great example is in the France and Europe speech. Look what President Obama flat out said before the "arrogance and dismissive" line:

... the United States certainly shares its -- shares blame for what has happened.

The United States can be blamed for something, even the least little bit? Horrors! American exceptionalism! How dare he?

Well, this is how he dares: he's talking about the global economic collapse of 2007-2008. It seems that even in June 2009, it was hard for the Heritage Foundation to be able to grab this clear example of the President accepting blame for something America had done. It's kind of hard to deny that America had a key role in that collapse. Or at least it was then. Who knows what stupid Citizens United group will grab that part of the sound clip and run with it? He even stammers in it! Weak! Weak!

The truth is that President Obama's "apology tour" was a powerful demonstration of American exceptionalism. One, he's the poster child for American exceptionalism -- the first African-American leader of the free world, a man who lived in a Muslim-majority nation in his childhood. And two, being able to openly acknowledge American mistakes in the past is a sign of national strength, dignity, and courage. Do we have things to be ashamed of in the past? Very well, we are ashamed of them. But that shame will not cripple us from doing good and right. The mistakes of the past are best remembered to guide us into the accomplishments of the future.

After all, any old country can try to sweep their sins under the rug, and plenty do -- even this country does. It's when we acknowledge our faults and seek to rectify them that we build strength and moral power, and that is something America could always use plenty more of.

Feel free to place the other quotes back into their context and show how true they are in the thread.

[Pirate Smile]

1. Fact Checker: "Note to GOP speechwriters and campaign ad makers: The apology tour never happened."

The Pinocchio Test

The claim that Obama repeatedly has apologized for the United States is not borne out by the facts, especially if his full quotes are viewed in context.

Obama often was trying to draw a rhetorical distinction between his policies and that of President Bush, a common practice when the presidency changes parties. The shift in policies, in fact, might have been more dramatic from Clinton to Bush than from Bush to Obama, given how Obama has largely maintained Bush's approach to fighting terrorism.

In other cases, Obama's quotes have been selectively trimmed for political purposes. Or they were not much different than sentiments expressed by Bush or his secretary of state. Republicans may certainly disagree with Obama's handling of foreign policy or particular policies he has pursued, but they should not invent a storyline that does not appear to exist.

Note to GOP speechwriters and campaign ad makers: The apology tour never happened.

Four Pinocchios

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2011/02/obamas_apology_tour.html

[Cigar11]

2. After 3 years of Republican Talking Points;

I personally don’t give a crap what they think, even if they had a single rational thought. I always close such BS retoric with the following: You Lost, so GTF-Over it!