Obama's Apology Tour

It's almost too much to ask - to expect red-blooded, patriotic, hard-working American citizens to stomach much more of this apology tour.

It's not like we should be surprised, though. The back story was there.

We have Obama's twenty years sitting in Jeremiah Wright's church listening to Wright denigrate the United States.

We had Michelle's comment: “People in this country are ready for change and hungry for a different kind of politics and … for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback" [emphasis mine]. She's right about one thing: it's definitely a different kind of politics.

We had the associations with Bill Ayers and with ACORN and all the others.

Then he insults our British allies by returning the Winston Churchill bust and slighting the Prime Minister when he visited America. Obama gives the Queen an iPod (albeit AND a lovely book).

While disenfranchising our allies, he sucks up to terrorist sponsors and dictators. The "lets make nice" video to Iran was embarrassing. Iran was so impressed they've convicted and imprisoned an American citizen for eight years in a Tehran jail. One more time: these people HATE us!

And so as Americans, how were we supposed to feel as Obama traipsed through Europe apologizing for America at every turn?

I never thought I'd see an American president bow to a Saudi king. Ever. Wrong on every level.

In Strasbourg Obama said, "In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." He said that Americans don't appreciate Europe's "leading role."

Charles Krauthammer had some things to say about that "leading role" comment:

"Maybe that's because when there was a civil war in Europe's doorstep in the Balkans and genocide, it didn't lift a finger until America led. Maybe it's because there was an invasion in Kuwait, it didn't lift a finger until America led. Maybe it's because with America spending over half a trillion a year keeping open the sea lanes and defending the world, Europe is spending pennies on defense.

It's hard to appreciate an entity's leading role in the world when it's been sucking on your tit for 60 years as Europe has with regard to the United States..."

I'd like to speak to, or hear from, some World War II veterans about what they think about this constant apologizing.

The overall effect of it all is that one should be embarrassed to live in America - we're such an awful, arrogant country. We should suck up to and shake hands with dictators and terrorist sponsors so we can be friends with them, but meanwhile, lets piss off our European allies. Let's tell Israel they are on their own now. WTF?

And now this, from Obama's most recent speech to Latiin American leaders:

"I know that promises of partnership have gone unfulfilled in the past, and that trust has to be earned over time. While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership.

There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations; there is simply engagement based on mutual respect and common interests and shared values. So I'm here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my administration."

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air said it best:

"Obama’s apologizing for being dictatorial … to Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, and the Castros. As for “dictat[ing] our terms,” we used to call that defending American interests. When negotiating, people try to get the best terms for themselves."

I cannot imagine Reagan, for example, going out into the world and denigrating America as this president is doing. It enrages me. Hope and Change? It's change, for sure.

The next president will have much apologizing to do, himself.

Update: A reader/commenter recommended this book - I've just ordered it.