After President Obama opted to spend the long holiday weekend in Chicago — meaning he'll miss the traditional Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery — Fox News host Glenn Beck charged that Obama had "decided not to honor our troops." Veterans groups are split, with some expressing disappointment and others saying the only important thing is that the president pays his respects to fallen soldiers (he'll be visiting Abraham Lincoln National Cemetary in Illinois). Is it wrong for Obama not to go to Arlington? (Watch Obama's Memorial Day message)
Obama clearly doesn't value the military: It's not asking much, says Erick Erickson in RedState, to expect the commander in chief to "lay a wreath" at the tomb of the unknowns once a year. Obama's refusal just proves he doesn't like the military. The left doesn't perceive a problem, of course, because they only value soldiers as "political props."
"In defending Barack Obama skipping Memorial Day, the left calls dead soldiers 'political props'"
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These conservative clowns are the ones being disrespectful: We're fighting two wars, trying to plug a hole in the ocean floor, and suffering 10 percent unemployment, says David Corn in Politics Daily, and all conservative pundits care about is painting Obama as anti-military because he's not going to "throw some leaves on a tomb"? The right-wingers are the ones dishonoring the war dead. How shameful.
"The right wing's Memorial Day attack on Obama"
Presidents don't always go to Arlington: Plenty of presidents miss the occasional Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington, says Husna Haq in The Christian Science Monitor. Some are "Republicans, no less." Ronald Reagan missed one to attend a summit in 1983; even George W. Bush skipped one, in 2002, because he was in Normandy, France. So at least take the screaming of "the anti-Obama machine" with a grain of salt.
"Obama's busy Memorial Day weekend: Arlington cemetery loses out"
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