It is being called “Semper Latte” and, if this is the biggest scandal that President Barack Obama has to worry about, his Administration is safe. Various people are denouncing the President for saluting his Marine guard while holding a cup of tea or coffee. From CNN to the Daily Mail to ABC to the New York Daily News to the Washington Post to the New York Post to NBC to CBS to countless others, the salute is generating heated comments across the country. YouTube clips show the salute over and over along with multiple postings expressing outrage. My reaction is a bit different. The President has launched another declared war that his aides say could last “years.” However, there seem more debate over this tempest in a tea [cup] than the fact that we are bombing another nation.
The President did not put his styrofoam cup in his other hand while stepping out of Marine One — a breach of military regulations and decorum. He appears to have forgotten the salute as he multitasked with his cup while buttoning his jacket.
What truly amazes me is that the White House released the photo. No one saw the problem and actually viewed the picture as worthy of sending out on the web.
However, it is the relative attention given the issue that is mystifying. Many irate people over the salute are less aggrieved by the war just commenced on the sole authority of this President. Just as there is an appropriate way to salute a Marine, there is an appropriate way to send a Marine to war. The Constitution is quite clear about starting wars and there is far more at stake. We should be at least as aggrieved when our Constitution is being disrespected or ignored as we are the Marine guard this week. Just a thought.
I have bigger issues with Obama than a cup.
“it would have been utterly proper for the guard to greet the President with an unreturned salute.”
Thomas,
First of all, the Marines present the salute, they are not returning a salute. It would have been more appropriate for the President to look at them and simply acknowledge them with a tip of the head.
I retired in 1999 and I will still respect people (military/civilian) and call them Sir or Maam. I will still render a salute when a handshake is not convenient. I’m not expecting it to be returned; it’s a sign of respect.
Olly – Obama or no other President is required to return the salute, however if they are going to do it, it should not be half-assed like Obama did.
So Olly, I’ll say this slowly, why wasn’t the group, “Oath Keepers” formed during the 8 long years of the Bush Administration?
Annie,
If I could talk slower, would that help? I’ll repeat:
“It’s called understanding that progressivism infects both major parties; it’s called not wanting to continue growing the administrative state; it’s called understanding what government is supposed to do;”
PREVIOUS administrations had grown the bureaucratic state and we saw it would continue with this guy…WE WERE RIGHT! Some have learned by their mistake and didn’t double-down. Others, well that obviously wasn’t in their character. Guess what? We won’t accept ANY administration that dishonors the oath of office. WE actually place principles above party.
Olly, One more time, please. What’s that Bush traumatic syndrome? Some of these haters are downright Pavlovian.
Since when is the CIC mandated to salute? Higher ranks don’t have to salute lower ranks….
I think you have to return a salute if you are a superior officer. Did not get far enough up in ROTC to know for sure.
That most certainly is NOT “a breach of military regulations and decorum.” Salutes are given to the uniform, not the man. As Obama was not wearing a uniform, an exchange of salutes is actually improper. Reagan started this tradition, saluting his color guards when not in uniform, and all subsequent Presidents have made it a habit. But what Obama did was not an insult or breach of protocol. In fact, it would have been utterly proper for the guard to greet the President with an unreturned salute.
bettykath: “Salutes aren’t required when in civilian clothes.”
There are various protocols, policies, etc, for saluting, but the distinction is usually less about civvies/uniform than on/off duty and, related, on/off post.
bettykath: “Another illegal war”
See my comment at September 24, 2014 at 1:19 pm.
As is, from a Constitutional standpoint, it’s not clear that the anti-ISIS strikes qualify as a state-v-state war, which would call for a Congressional war authorization. Based on the Clinton anti-AQ precedent, it appears they fall under the President’s standing international counter-terror authority, instead.
A clearer case of a possible “illegal war” by Obama is the Libya intervention, which was directed at a sovereign, skipped Congress with the justification of standing authorization via the UN covenant, yet was misrepresented to the UN as humanitarian R2P, and then eschewed post-regime change peace operations, which could have at least stamped on a post hoc authorization like our Balkans intervention.
No one takes anyone seriously who says polls say something, and then don’t give a link to the poll.
Eric,
The military doesn’t tolerate lapses in “attention to detail”. Every soldier, airman and sailor would cringe at the photo of Bush and the video of Obama. They know better. They will also consider the incident in relation to the respect the President has demonstrated for the military. The outward reaction to both will be the same; move along. But the disrespect will not be dismissed internally if it was consistent with previous behavior.
Its the MSM idea of waving shinning objects in your face, so they won’t have to talk about things that really matter. Not that they would talk about real issues and problems. Att: Chuck Todd
When criticism of Obama is warranted, it’s different than this endless stupid sniping at every single thing he does. It makes the legitimate criticisms look less important. It makes it look like they are just more of the same baseless crap spewed by haters.
Please retrieve comment here.
And Paul, my daughter being shot at by Taliban never loses importance to me and the other military mothers I was in contact with during those hours that the base was on lock down and we didn know if our loved ones were alive or dead.
Paul, BINGO on the trotting. BINGO!
Too bad Paul, if you don’t like it oh well, I do not care. You can expect me to continue to keep repeating it when I feel it’s appropriate to the discussion.
IF OBAMA IS BOMBING, IT MUST BE ELECTION SEASON
Obama has opened the election campaign with fireworks. Obama did not begin military operations in Syria when it might have been effective, he waited for the election season to open. He believes he will be seen as tough on security and war, which will cause him to rise in the polls and help democrats. He sent planes out to bomb empty buildings like Clinton’s “aspirin factory” skit.
Let’s ask the French if they’re happy about their participation in Obama’s ISIS- bombing election campaign after the French journalist was beheaded in Algeria as retaliation. Oh, that pesky “Arab Spring.”
Obama claimed he took over for Bush and won Bush’s war. Obama pulled American troops out of Iraq and sent them home. He won the war. NOT! Bush and Romney admonished against early withdrawal…oh, and Russia too.
Obama said he defeated al Qaeda. Obama did not defeat al Qaeda, he renamed al Qaeda, calling it Khorasan. Obama says there is a new threat, a “splinter group” called Khorasan. In fact, it is a subdivision of the old threat, al Qaeda. Obama won no war and defeated no enemy.
Obama released ISIS leader Baghdadi from Guantanamo in 2009. Obama released 5 Taliban General Staff from Guantanamo to obtain the release of an “American” deserter; a defector; a traitor. He set the stage for this election cycle.
In order to preclude foreign allegiances, the Commander in Chief was required to be a “natural born citizen” of 2 citizen-parents, as the requirement for U.S. Senator is only “citizen.” Obama is the son of a foreign citizen.
Charlie Rose Show – TOM BROKAW:
“We don’t know a lot about Barack Obama and the universe of his thinking about foreign policy.”
The “latte salute” is a revealing demonstration of Obama’s allegiances.
It is impossible to be a poster boy for affirmative action and welfare, smoke pot through a high school career, dance around a lecture hall “interpreting” law for students who don’t know any better, finally get a job as a ghetto “community organizer” and function as anything other than an “empty suit,” ineligible president, giving “latte salutes.” Especially when the only statue of you in the world, the Obama statue in Indonesia, is unceremoniously torn down. Imagine what that does to your self-esteem, psyche and world view.
Bret Stephens – Wall Street Journal – 9/22/14
“I’ve been thinking about this as it becomes clear that, even at an elementary level, Mr. Obama often doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It isn’t so much his analysis of global events that’s wrong, though it is. The deeper problem is the foundation of knowledge on which that analysis is built.”
John, I retrieved your comment at 1:52.
I know conservative people here in Wisconsin in my very conservative county, that took down their American flag the day after Obama was elected and swore they wouldn’t fly it while he was President. That speaks loudly, as well as all conservative loons who were running to buy ammo and guns, rice and beans within MONTHS after Obama was elected.
Annie – is that any loonier than the amount of guns and ammo the Dept of Agriculture has purchased? Or Forestry?
Salutes aren’t required when in civilian clothes.
Another illegal war, i.e. a war crime. Oh, hum. just more of the same.
What is a problem w/ this is polls show the military REALLY disapprove of Obama. Stuff like this just increases those bad numbers.