Tense Tarmac Moment

Governor Jan Brewer of AZ greeted President Obama as he stepped off Air Force One in Phoenix, AZ yesterday, and handed him a letter before engaging him "intensely" for several minutes, including pointing her finger at him, according to ABC News.  The discussion was apparently over her book, "Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media and Cynical Politicos to Secure America's Border," in which she describes an Oval Office meeting with President Obama in 2010 in rather unflattering terms. 

Please feel free to disagree with the President.  But as the leader of our country, has he not earned the respect not to have a finger pointed in his face?  Or have someone state on the radio that "I thought he was kind of a dick yesterday", or have a reporter interrupt his speech with a loud "you lie!"?  Why on earth do we allow our president to be treated that way?

Obama is not the first president to be ridiculed and disrespected.  His predecessor George Bush, heard it too. But to my recollection, not as publicly, and not so "in his face".  However, he certainly endured quite the collection of demeaning posters in demonstrations, ridiculing internet posts and critique in media and Congress. Ringo's Pictures posted this collection of pictures from the Bush era.  President Bush also endured being booed  during his 2004 State of the Union address as well as at Obama's inauguration.  Really? We booed the president? Even after comparing him to Hitler and Osama Bin Laden?

I am all for free speech, but that does not mean we should forget common courtesy and manners. How do we expect other countries to respect the US and it's president, when we so publicly show that we have no respect for our own leaders.  I certainly hope this was the end of inappropriate behavior and comments towards President Obama, and that we going forward can learn to treat the President and his office with the respect he deserves. Or as Debbie Hines stated in her post last year about this issue,  "I do hope that more people will come to the defense of the office of presidency and the man in the office...(...)...  I was always taught that if you don’t respect yourself, no one else will. As Americans, we need to respect our president and the office of the presidency, as others abroad do."