Rudy Giuliani stands in a long line of those who think it is okay to degrade this president. Never in the history of this country, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with him, has a president been this disrespected -- there have been disagreements more often attacking one's policy and not the character or beliefs of the individuals.
With Selma the movie fresh in my mind after watching it last week, Giuliani's recent statements about President Obama beg the question: what is this all about? Can there be so much harbored hate among President Obama's critics that they think it is okay to step outside of the realm of respect for the Office of President and seek to degrade him. It is impossible to get inside of the heads of these individuals to figure out what is making them tick. Perhaps a psychological evaluation would reveal more than we want to know in a nation that has struggled to be equal and just. Equal treatment of all Americans certainly has not come without its struggles, but America continues to march forward.
Let's not dignify the comments of Giuliani or any other disrespectful critic that attempts to degrade this president by calling into question his character or loyalty to this country, especially when, at the same time, they try to make themselves relevant.
What we can do is remind them that we are all created equal and that the office of the President is the highest in the land and you don't get there by being disrespectful of our nation and its people.
I want to remind President Obama's critics that he has changed the lives of many Americans, especially those who have struggled without health care and have had to choose between taking care of themselves and feeding their families because they just couldn't afford it. Today, because of President Obama and his policies, many of those individuals now have access to affordable health care. He has called on Congress to pass legislation that offers earned sick leave for those who get up and go to work every day and don't have it, because people should not be forced to choose between a paycheck and going to work sick and contaminating the work place, fellow workers and their customers.
I want to remind President Obama's critics that this is not a man who works in a vacuum; he surrounds himself with capable and highly qualified individuals confirmed by Congress to take on the many tasks that come with being President. He has reached out and across the aisle to provide America solutions to the many problems we face, and has placed new opportunities for success before us.
This president, like his predecessors, puts in countless hours working with experts to protect our country, our troops, and our citizens, both here and abroad.
Apparently, it is somewhat difficult for the President's critics, who have not walked in his shoes or experienced his history to understand how you can love our country but still call on it every day to display equality, fairness and justice for all. Though they are misguided, don't abhor his critics, educate them, for history will bear out the truth of President Obama's struggle to make America a better place.
Every leader, and, needless to say, president, is challenged to make the best of whatever situation they inherit by virtue of their election or rise to power. The goal when you walk out the door is to leave the place better than you found it.
President Obama is a man of the people who loves his country and all the people in it. At the very least, we should show him the respect that we've shown every United States President before him.