Bama Bashed For Saying”Supreme Leader” Even Though GOP Uses It
Even though the title of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “Supreme Leader,” Charles Krauthammer is outraged that President Obama would use this honorific.
“Supreme Leader”? Note the abject solicitousness with which the American president confers this honorific on a clerical dictator who, even as his minions attack demonstrators, offers to examine some returns in some electoral districts — a farcical fix that will do nothing to alter the fraudulence of the election.
Bill Bennett echoed this indignation. But Steve Benen reminds us that no one seems to object when Republicans use the term.
The same days as Krauthammer’s column ran, for example, John McCain was on Fox News when he said, “There may be those indications since the Supreme Leader said that they were not going to tolerate further demonstrations in the street.” Does this count as “abject solicitousness,” too?
In addition to McCain, Bill Kristol and Richard Lugar have used the term the same way. So, I patiently await similar condemnation of these GOP icons. Are Republicans this desparate to find a mode of attack against Obama?
Yeah, it would accomplish so much more, and would make the US look so much better, and would just seem so much more awesome and manly if Obama referred to the Ayatollah as a dirty scum-sucking muslim demon-spawned sack of putrid monkey crap.
But, on the other hand, Krauthammer got his university training in psychiatry, and I just have to say that some of the biggest loonies I’ve ever met were into psychiatry.
hhhhhah Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
“dirty scum-sucking muslim demon-spawned sack of putrid monkey crap” took the words right out of my mouth. While your at it, add terrorist to the list.
Big delima, do we kiss our enemies feet or do we fight back?
WWKMD
What Would Karl Marx do?
OldLefty Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Nobody cares what Karl Marx would do any more than they care what Adam smith, Teddy Roosevelt or Dwight D Einenhower would do.
Haven’t we kissed our enemies feet enough for the last eight years?
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 am
Fight back ?
Did I miss something ? Did the supreme leader attack us while I was out ?
HHHHHaH, maybe some relaxation techniques are in order.
flap Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:05 pm
No, it just makes Dr. Krauthammer adept in diagnosing liberals with mental illnesses. Whoops, that’s redundant.
*rimshot* Thank you! I’m a regular David Letterman!
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:21 pm
‘ if Obama referred to the Ayatollah as a dirty scum-sucking muslim demon-spawned sack of putrid monkey crap’.
Well said Mr.President. Awesome!
No matter who wins in Iran, or which Mullah gets to loot the treasury, I fear the policy toward the USA will not change.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 am
You may be right.
You also may be wrong.
RDM Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
AJ…50/50, I’ll take those odds but would prefer to be wrong.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
RDM,
I hope you’re wrong too.
Nothing personal.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Let’s not make an issue of this please. The title “Supreme Leader” doesn’t even translate from english to farsi. The farsi term does not have the connotation that the English term has.
jasperjava Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 am
Good point. I bet those Republican a–holes screamed at Roosevelt if FDR referred to Hitler as the Führer. “Oh look! He just called our enemy the Leader! He must be a Nazi!”
This is why the right-wingers are becoming completely irrelevant to the political discourse. They have lost their minds.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:01 am
Jas said: This is why the right-wingers are becoming completely irrelevant to the political discourse. They have lost their minds.
K: With all your scatalogical musings and name-calling I”m not so sure its the Cons that have lost their minds…
jasperjava Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:31 am
Hey, WE’RE not the ones losing our minds over the fact that Obama likes Dijon mustard. Or the fact that he refers to the leader of Iran by his widely-accepted title. We’re not the ones singing “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran”.
The Right has gone completely insane.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
“Big delima, do we kiss our enemies feet or do we fight back?”
Oh right. Sorry. I forgot. Who are we nuking this week? Well let’s do it the easy way and just decide who are we NOT going to nuke. Nashville, maybe?
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:31 pm
One very clear point can be made: No Republican has bowed to a Saudi King. No one really knows what is in BO’s mind in regard to these characters and the fact that he’s made improper moves in regards to Islamic Authorities in the past certainly color the judgment of his current actions.
jasperjava Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 am
“No Republican has bowed to a Saudi King”
ROFL!!!
Dubya was in bed with the Saudis for eight years! He tiptoed through the tulips with Prince (now King) Abdullah, and kissed him on the lips! The B*sh Klan was so close to Prince Bandar, who served as the Royal ambassador, that they nicknamed him Bandar Bush! George H.W. Bush is constantly going to Saudi Arabia to connect with the regime and the bin Ladens in his lobbying work with the Carlyle Group. He allowed the bin Ladens and other Saudi bigwigs to fly home after September 11, even when all other flights were still grounded. Despite the fact that many of these Saudis were RELATED to the 9/11 mastermind, they were not even questioned.
YOU-HAVE-GOT-TO-BE-KIDDING. The Bushes were FAR more deeply connected to the Saudis than Obama ever could be. A polite little nod of the head is NOTHING compared to the boot-licking, ass-kissing behavior of the B*sh Klan.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 am
A head of state does not bow in the presence of another head of state. Now you may return to your rant…
jasperjava Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 am
A head of state doesn’t lick another head of state’s ass, but that never stopped George W. B*sh.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 am
Jas said: A head of state doesn’t lick another head of state’s ass, but that never stopped George W. B*sh.
K: Whatever scatalogical slurping you contemplate Bush having done while in office, he did not bow to a Saudi King.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:06 am
This whole bowing thing is so trivial, especially in light of the Bush family’s relationships.
A real stretch on this one.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
James said: This whole bowing thing is so trivial, especially in light of the Bush family’s relationships. A real stretch on this one.
K: BO’s screwing up protocol has nothing to do with Bush. The POTUS does NOT bow in subservience to anyone. Period. That BO did it to a king raises questions about his grasp of symbology – at the very least.
TDro319 Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
“A head of state does not bow in the presence of another head of state.”
And a head of state does not invade another country simply for profit.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Td said: And a head of state does not invade another country simply for profit.
K: You are correct for once. No one has invaded another country simply for profit. I hope BO doesn’t do it accidentially…
blissfulconservative Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Bowing is NOT trivial in that culture. It IS a big deal.
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:36 pm
“One very clear point can be made: No Republican has bowed to a Saudi King.”
It’s this very attitude that makes up so loved throughout the world.
What harm does it do?
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:40 am
Dawn said: It’s this very attitude that makes up so loved throughout the world.
K: Love doesn’t count in the grown-up world, Dawn, – respect does. Bowing is a symbolic ign or signal of inferiority and is NOT done by Heads of State to each other. Except when BO does it.
D: What harm does it do?
K: It isn’t done. It isn’t respected.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:58 am
Beg to differ Kregg,
Love trumps everything. Period.
It is precisely when we forget that fact, that we get into trouble.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:12 am
James said: Love trumps everything. Period. It is precisely when we forget that fact, that we get into trouble.
K: We show love when we defend freedom. We show love when we derail and remove murdering dictators and those who would dominate the world. We also show love when we show respect where it is due. However, those who oppose us often mis-interpret our love as weakness and, therefore, we must also make sure we are respected – either out of a genuine admiration for our principles OR out of fear for what we can and will do if we are tested.
K: As an example: I doubt N. Korea appreciates our love but they damned well respect our ability to respond as we find necessary to enforce our positions. Ditto, Iran.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:53 am
Respect taken from the point of a gun is not respect at all. It is fear. Gang-banger mentality.
Love your enemies. Love your neighbor.
Love casts out fear.
There are faith, hope, love.
The greatest of these is love.
The other two are pretty good too.
If N.Korea provokes us by actual agression, the department of DEFENSE is here for exactly that purpose.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 am
James said: Respect taken from the point of a gun is not respect at all. It is fear. Gang-banger mentality.
K: James, the respect is for what being shot can do. On a national level respect for the power to retaliate is all that keeps any number of two-bit dictators from taking us on. A big stick is all some people respect so we must show it to those people who do not respect our love.
J: Love your enemies. Love your neighbor. Love casts out fear. There are faith, hope, love. The greatest of these is love.
K: I’d say the US does a pretty good job at all of these. However, not everyone who opposes us cares. For those who do not respect our love we carry a big stick with which to defend ourselves and our neighbors.
JL The other two are pretty good too.
J: If N.Korea provokes us by actual agression, the department of DEFENSE is here for exactly that purpose.
K: You don’t think firing a missle capable of hitting Hawaii is ‘provocation’ and ‘actual aggression’? Last time I checked firing a missle at a sovereign nation was considered aggression… ;-)
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:23 am
They have not fired “at” the USA, so far as I know.
Kim Jong Ill is playing blinksmanship, he is trying to up his cred in the big bad world by facing off with the USA. Juvenile.
A wise man puts away wrath.
I like Obama’s chances here, to work this out peacefully.
Love first, diplomacy.
Peace and love baby, the dynamic duo.
If you would have told me during my punk rock heyday that I would be espousing peace and love, I would have swung on you.
Self defense is a legitimate use of our military(what a concept), and I have every confidence in our commander in chief,
and our military that answers to him.
TDro319 Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:21 pm
“D: What harm does it do?
K: It isn’t done. It isn’t respected.”
And you know exactly what the Saudi king was thinking? Did the king decide that Obama was unrespectable because he bent lower than you’d like? I don’t think so.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:28 pm
TD said: And you know exactly what the Saudi king was thinking?
K: When someone flips you the bird you instinctively know they are showing disrespect. When one bows to a king that king knows what is being ’said’.
T: Did the king decide that Obama was unrespectable because he bent lower than you’d like? I don’t think so.
K: One sentence ago you were ridiculing me for presuming what the king was thinking. One sentence later YOU are presuming what the king was thinking. What gives, TD?
blissfulconservative Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Dawn said “what harm does it do?”. Hmmmm. Do some research.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Hey!
They are not pusillanimous.
pierre Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Bill Bennet has an animus pussy.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:07 am
Pierre,
I find that very hard to believe.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Hey Rocky,
I don’t know if you’re keeping up with current events but the question is not, “Who are we nuking this week?” The question is, who is trying to nuke us.
ahhh, never mind. It’s just Hawaii.
jasperjava Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 am
You think the North Korean firecrackers can reach Hawai’i? That’s the same kind of bedwetting fear-mongering that we’ve been fed during the B*sh regime years. Buy duct tape and plastic sheeting! Hide! The big, bad scary Iraqi WMDs are going to get you! Boo hoo hoo! Scared yet?
Come out from under the bed, get off your knees, and be a man, instead of an abject, trembling Republican coward.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:03 am
Helipilot,
Do you really think that North Korea’s Kim Jong Ill would fire a nuke at us ?
Seriously ?
He may be a lot of things but suicidal doesn’t seem like one of them.
GuidoVanHorn Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:21 am
Kim Jong Il is michelle bachman-level crazy. Who knows what he would do?
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:05 am
No way,
If he is that crazy…..Oh no. Good night Irene.
Daddio Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:11 am
James, you keep getting younger and younger. How do you do it? :)
Have you seen the movie about the fellow named Benjamin Buttons? I can’t remember the movie title. Not a bad movie though. He was born an old man and got younger as life went on until he died an infant.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
As a child, I had that whole huge head thing going on. Like an orange on a stick.
Actually my sister used to call me applehead. Well I called her thunder thighs, but that’s beside the point.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 am
James said: Do you really think that North Korea’s Kim Jong Ill would fire a nuke at us ?
Seriously ?
K: We don’t have the luxury of presuming he won’t. Presumption brought us 9/11.
J: He may be a lot of things but suicidal doesn’t seem like one of them.
K: You willing to bet on that assessment? Who’d of thought the 19 high-jackers would have been suicidal?
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 am
As far as I know Kim Jong Ill is non-religious.
China would side with us, in a heartbeat, along with the rest of the world.
Utter suicide.
Unarmed missile shot(provocation) perhaps, thermo nuclear missile, no.
Deprtment of DEFENSE.
GuidoVanHorn Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:41 am
It all depends on China..China is essentially N. Korea’s only lifeline…(as they are ours, financially anyway)
But none of this really effects KJI as he’ll just oppress his people more to make sure he lives in comfort.
Saddam and KJI are two peas in a pod.
jasperjava Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:44 am
Presumption also brought us the “one-percent doctrine”, which brought us the Iraq war, which killed more Americans than 9/11.
Cowards, scared of their own shadow, worried that big, bad, scary Kim Jong Il will get them. Unbelievable.
This is what “patriotic” Republicans have turned into: sissies and cowards, ready to tear up the Constitution, bomb innocent civilians, torture powerless detainees, anything to feel a teeny-tiny bit “safer”.
Living according to your values, that takes courage. Abandoning your values out of fear, not so much.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:45 am
James said: As far as I know Kim Jong Ill is non-religious.
K: Communism is a religion focused on the state as God and can rouse just as many fervent feelings amongst the deranged as any religion can.
J: China would side with us, in a heartbeat, along with the rest of the world.
K: Not if it served them better to sit back and do nothing.
J; Utter suicide.
K: Are you willing to bet your childrens’ lives on it?
J: Unarmed missile shot(provocation) perhaps, thermo nuclear missile, no.
K: A sane man does not kick an 800lb gorilla in the balls. When a man DOES kick that gorilla it is safe to conclude that he is insane. I hope you have your binoculars out to see whether that ‘provocative’ unarmed missle really IS unarmed because if you’re wrong millions will die. Would you really take that chance?
Deprtment of DEFENSE.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:47 am
Jas said: Cowards, scared of their own shadow, worried that big, bad, scary Kim Jong Il will get them. Unbelievable.
K: World, meet Jasper Chamberlin…
Daddio Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:16 am
Kregg is right. We don’t have the luxury of waiting to see if Kim Jung Il is indeed crazy. By the time that happens there could me several hundred thousand American civilians dead.
I think that he is a madman, capable of pushing that button that launches the missile.
And our president called for reducing the funding for missile defense. Not the smartest thing to do the day after N. Korea sets off a nuclear test.
TDro319 Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
“We don’t have the luxury of waiting to see if Kim Jung Il is indeed crazy. ”
Well, now’s the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country, Daddio. Hurry down to the recruiting office and either enlist or have your kids enlist.
Then you can “Be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box”.
TDro319 Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
K: “We don’t have the luxury of presuming he won’t. Presumption brought us 9/11.”
TD: Bush knew we were going to be attacked, but did nothing to prevent it.
“CBS reporter David Martin revealed that weeks before the attacks, the CIA had warned Bush personally of Osama Bin Laden�s intent to use hijacked planes as missiles. That followed the damaging exposure by The Associated Press�s John Solomon of a pre-9/11 FBI memo from an officer in Phoenix warning of suspicious Middle Eastern men training at flight schools�a warning that went unheeded.”
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
TD: Bush knew we were going to be attacked, but did nothing to prevent it.
K: There is the little matter of ‘when’ such an attack might happen, but don’t let that disturb your illusions.
GuidoVanHorn Reply:
June 24th, 2009 at 2:36 am
TD…again I ask…what would you have him do? ground all planes indefinitely…strip search every passenger?
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:11 am
Alan said: Bama Bashed For Saying”Supreme Leader” Even Though GOP Uses It
K: Whats with the “Bama” moniker?
jasperjava Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:36 am
I think it’s meant to be an attempt at alliteration, like “Right-wing Redneck Racist Republican”.
Kregg Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:07 am
Jas said: I think it’s meant to be an attempt at alliteration, like “Right-wing Redneck Racist Republican”.
K: I’m not sure Alan would know an alliteration if it bit him on his butt. I suspect its a typo…
RDM Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 am
” Redneck Racist Republican”…WOW, is that all you got!
You can call me green-teethed sheethead if you so choose, but I prefer—UNDEMOCRAT.
Thank you very much. I’m so NOT Obama.
average james Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:32 pm
UnDemocrat,
That is a good one RDM.
Daddio Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:06 am
“Bama” as in Crimson Tide.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 am