A recent photo shows President Obama saluting Marines while talking on his cell phone -- what was thought to be highly disrespectful by some Marines, but mainly opponents of the president who have freely questioned his citizenship and distributed photos of him dressed up as an African tribesman and pimp (respect is a one way street with them). In other words, these people are just looking for material ... Tuesday will contain some Obama hating, just like yesterday and tomorrow. Anything fresh and new will do.
The tradition of presidents saluting is fairly recent; Carey Winfrey notes that it goes back to Reagan. Winfrey adds that he is uncomfortable with the practice: "For nearly three decades, I’ve felt conflicted about presidential salutes. After all, my United States Marine Corps instructors drilled into me the idea that “you never salute without a cover” which, in civilian, meant without a hat. My fellow Marines and I were also informed, in no uncertain terms, that we weren’t to salute out of uniform. (I don’t think that presidential blue suits, white shirts and red ties quite qualify.) So whenever I saw a president stepping off a helicopter and bringing hand to brow, my drill instructor’s unambiguous words came back to me with much of their original force."
We have to ask ourselves how these traditions came to be and whether they even make sense. The irony is that Obama's critics had no issue with Bush's one dog salutes, which were breathtaking in their lack of formality but certainly entertaining. Remember, if you're a Republican this behavior is easily excusable because no one will ever question your devotion to your country and our men and women in uniform.
