Thursday, August 30, 2012

Here's Looking At Me, Kid

The death of astronaut Neil Armstrong last Friday was a sad day for those who still love America and her singular accomplishments. Despite being the first human being to set foot on the moon, Armstrong was always a dedicated, honest and modest man. He had no desire to be a celebrity, even when it was thrust upon him. The tributes to him were many, and he would probably have been uncomfortable with most of them.

As I've done here, most websites which discussed his life and times led off with a picture of Armstrong himself, usually in astronaut garb. Breitbart.com did a fine job of capsulizing the long life and great accomplishments of Neil Armstrong.

"Armstrong's heroism wasn't the lunar walk, though. It was how he comported himself afterwards that showed the true measure of the man. He was among the more famous human beings in history. Yet he retired to a quiet and private life teaching aeronautical engineering and tending to his farm. His walk on the moon wasn't a personal achievement, per se, but an accomplishment for all of humanity.

He made few public appearances. He gave very few speeches or interviews. His resignation from the public square made his lunar walk something mankind achieved rather than something Neil Armstrong achieved. His walk was the culmination of the work, not only of the thousands of engineers and scientists who directly worked on the mission, but also of the countless others throughout the ages who looked up at the skies and dreamed. Armstrong understood this."

One prominent blogger found someone more important than Armstrong to feature in the semi-tribute to the first man on the moon. His name is Barack Hussein Obama, and on his official Obama-Biden Tumblr site, he demonstrated his choice of who should be the true center of the story of Neil Armstrong--himself. Instead of a picture of Neil Armstrong, or a group of famous astronauts, or the lunar lander, Obama led off with a picture of himself staring off into space (appropriately enough).

Aside from his multitude of other flaws, Barack Obama is the most narcissistic president in my memory. His tribute to Armstrong was more about "I" than it was about Armstrong, or the space program for that matter. It was well nigh impossible for Obama to ignore the passing of an American icon without comment. But Armstrong did say a discouraging word about Obama's drastic cuts to the space program. He mused about Americans traveling once again to the moon--this time on a Chinese rocket. He questioned how Obama plans for the American space program, largely defunded and despondent, to reach Mars without the necessary intermediate steps and new, but tested technology.

So the Space-Case-in-Chief did throw something out for Americans about Armstrong: "Neil’s spirit of discovery lives on in all the men and women who have devoted their lives to exploring the unknown—including those who are ensuring that we reach higher and go further in space. That legacy will endure—sparked by a man who taught us the enormous power of one small step." But the photo accompanying the tribute really tells the story of Obama's self-centeredness.

Every time Obama pulls one of these "look at me" pieces, I am reminded of a scene in the movie Beaches. The outgoing and successful entertainer C. C. (Bette Midler) is prattling on about herself to her longtime friend Hillary (Barbara Hershey), a reserved, quiet lawyer. C. C. suddenly stops, realizing the entire one-sided conversation had been about her. She attempts to recover: "Well, enough about me. Let's talk about you. What do you think about me?"

40 comments:

K said...

I'm not one for backing off from Obama bashing, but I seriously doubt that BHO picked out that picture himself - for one thing I'm pretty sure his golf schedule wouldn't have allowed it.

Joel Farnham said...

Obama can't help himself. When he loses this November, he will say "I built the GOP." ;-)

BevfromNYC said...

And Joel, he will be correct for the first time in his Administration!

Unknown said...

K: You may have a point. LOL

Unknown said...

Joel: You nailed it.

Unknown said...

Bev: What picture do you think he'll choose for the caption of his exit photo?

BevfromNYC said...

K- Good job! A swing and it's out of the park, folks!

But honestly, he can't help himself. I am sure that he and his handlers took what Dr. Armstrong family requested to heart. They asked us than rather than praise him with words and state funerals, to just look up at the sky and the Moon on a clear night and give him a wink. But pictures are worth a thousand words and instead of making it about the Moon and Armstrong, they made it about Obama because they are once again shockingly inept at NOT making it about Obama.

BevfromNYC said...

LawHawk - I think he will be another Clinton and won't really ever leave...

Unknown said...

Bev: Yeah, that's Obama. Always doing the right thing and paying heed to the Armstrong family request. Hmmph. Good line--"shockingly inept at NOT making it about Obama."

Writer X said...

Whenever Obama has the chance to praise someone else, he screws it up. What a dope we have as a president.

No matter. I remember watching Armstrong's moonwalk on a grainy television when I was a kid. Those of us who watched Armstrong's quiet heroism won't easily forget it.

Unknown said...

Bev: You just gave me a horrible thought. Not only will he not leave, but he'll follow Clinton's political map and try to get Michelle elected president. Oh My God !

Joel Farnham said...

LawHawk,

I wouldn't worry about Michelle trying to get elected. She would have to get more than four people to like her. That is way too hard for her.

Unknown said...

Writer X: If we passed a constitutional amendment that said he could never again use the word "I," he would immediately switch to the Bob Dole method and start referring to himself in the third person. Regardless of the actual topic, it will always be about the Big O.

I was traveling and on the road at the time of the landing, so I had to listen to it on the car radio. I've always regretted not being home for it to see it live. Re-runs just aren't the same thing.

Unknown said...

Joel: Don't forget the fear factor. She could convince a lot of people to back her just by rolling up her sleeves and making a fist. Barack himself would work feverishly just so he didn't have to stay at home with her listening to her berate him for losing his own reelection.

StanH said...

What a remarkable moment in time. For me, it’s one of those things that you can remember where and what you were doing. Like Writer said, we watched it on a black and white TV, with the grainy reception, utterly transfixed…just wow. Neil Armstrong is the ultimate American hero, humble but fearless, risk all for God and country and indeed mankind.

Barry makes everything about himself, this extends to his sycophants. Though he probably didn’t pick the photo, you can bet he approves.

I have an alarming thought about Barry, once we fire him, instead of Clinton he’ll be more like Carter

Unknown said...

Stan: I think it's probably entirely true that heroes rarely think of themselves as heroes, and are often amazed that others do think of them that way. Armstrong would have to be very near the top of that list. He hid from publicity and hype, and instead chose to do that other public service--teaching. He remained committed to NASA, but never sought the headlines.

As for the photo, I can picture him approving the photo even if not choosing it personally. It was undoubtedly part of his pre-approved catalog. "I'm Barack Obama, and I approve of my picture of me."

BHO's future will undoubtedly include the kind of anti-Americanism that Carter is so good at. His phoniness, insincerity, and faked cosmopolitanism plays very well with the Europeans, and his suspect praise for Islam puts him in good stead with the suicidal left. After all, this is the guy who got the Nobel Peace Prize for having done absolutely nothing, but promising everything.

I see him as largely abandoning America and working hard to attain the ultimate throne--Secretary General of the United Nations. Why dwell on having been leader of the unexceptional United States when he can become the leader of the One World Society?

T-Rav said...

Don't be too hard on him, LawHawk. Narcissistic? Yes. Thoughtless? Yeah. Utterly and completely out of touch? Like no other. On the other hand, I hear he has great posture.

Unknown said...

T-Rav: To paraphrase the running gag from the old Saturday Night Live show: "It is better to look good than to be good." Somebody (and I think it may have been Paul Ryan) said that when playing basketball with Barack, it's easy to defend against him. Just remember that he'll always make his move to the left.

tryanmax said...

"Neil’s spirit of discovery lives on in all the men and women who have devoted their lives to exploring the unknown—including those who are ensuring that we reach higher and go further in space."

So space exploration is an afterthought on the day Neil Armstrong passes? Yeesh!

AndrewPrice said...

I doubt Obama even knows about the page frankly. It's probably done by some low level staffer. Do you have a link to it?

In any event, three plus years of observation have demonstrated that the man is a narcissist, probably the worst we've ever seen as President. And he's in for a rude awakening in November.

Unknown said...

tryanmax: I hadn't thought of it that way. But I think you're right.

tryanmax said...

Andrew is probably right that a staffer penned it. But it still remains that the media staff has evidently had it drummed into their collective heads that their job is to spin everything to put 0bama at the center.

Unknown said...

Andrew: Your wish is my command. Here's the primary link: Obama-Biden Tumblr Official Site.

A low level staffer may very well have put it together, but it is an official Obama election site, and I doubt seriously that any low level staffer gave it the final approval. As the masthead states: "This is the Obama 2012 campaign's official home on Tumblr." If it wasn't Obama himself, it was very likely someone high in the pecking-order.

Either way, whether it was Obama himself or someone else, it's a demonstration of the kind of thinking that pervades the messianic Obama cadres.

That outsized ego is certainly going to get badly-bruised in November.

Unknown said...

tryanmax: I agree that in between rounds of golf and entertaining SEIU officials at the White House, Obama has little time to be writing these things himself. But either he or someone way up in the hierarchy has to approve the final version of posts on an official Obama website. You're right on the money about the fact that Obama considers himself the center of the universe, and his staffers, high, low or middle must support that position in every way possible.

tryanmax said...

FYI: the exact same statement is hosted on the White House press website: LINK

Unknown said...

As for the Tumblr post, it should also be noted that directly below the Obama-Biden logo, is the link to Barackobama.com.

Unknown said...

tryanmax: Thanks for the supporting link. It verifies the statement, but unlike the original post, the White House statement from the press office doesn't include the Obama moon-gazing photo.

AndrewPrice said...

Honestly, if you guys are upset about the statement, then you're being Obama-deranged. This is a very standard statement of the type any administration would issue.

And if a Republican had issued this identical statement, I can guarantee you that you would call it classy.

Seriously, there is enough bad stuff about Obama without trying to find generate fake issues just because you're upset.


As for the tumblr site, I hate to break this too you, but nobody high up approved anything on that site. This is SOP for campaigns. They hire some tech/media guy who runs the site with almost no involvement by Obama or anyone high up in his campaign or administration. It's unlikely anyone high up in the campaign will ever even visit the site unless it causes a controversy.

Unknown said...

Andrew: This is obviously one of those rare times where we are going to have to agree to disagree. It may be a side issue, but it's not a fake issue. The criticism related to Obama's narcissism, not to the truth or falsity of the statement (which was, indeed, quite decent). I'm not upset, I'm disgusted.

If it's an official site, then it's open to criticism, regardless of who actually put it together. This is not put together by an independent PAC. It is an official Obama site. I defer to your expertise on how high the approval factor goes or who in the Obama administration might or might not be reading and/or editing it.

rlaWTX said...

His face isn't even showing - therefore The One can't be being narcissistic... sarc off/

apparently the pic isn't even new - it's from this spring sometime...
Andrew, I think that after his insertion of himself in the presidential bios, this is just one more sign of his administration's priorities. Even if TOTUS didn't actually do this himself, he hired someone who did (or hired the someone who did). In and of itself it isn't damning, it is indicative of a pattern.

Unknown said...

rlaWTX: But who else could have such great posture and evoke such images of the eternal progress of mankind? LOL

tryanmax said...

If a man's political fortunes can spin on a single word, why not a photograph? But really, I'm not upset--or even disgusted. I'm just genuinely fascinated by the way this administration expresses itself and how it orders ideas regardless of who is pecking at the keyboard. It's like how my 3-yr-old calls all clothes "pajamas" but he uses the words "see" and "look" in consistently different ways despite the subtle distinction.

Joel Farnham said...

Andrew,

If what you say is true, where are the pictures for Romney?

The main thing that I find irritating is the way everything about Obama is marketing, no substance.

Unknown said...

tryanmax: Fascination with the perpetuation of the Obama-centric world is a very sensible reaction.

Unknown said...

Joel: He is, as they say, all show and no go. Selling the sizzle without any steak.

Koshcat said...

I fall between Andrew and LawHawk. The statement is fine and standard political fluff. The picture is bizaar and misplaced. It is the picture that bothers me. Why must we always have a picture of him?

Unknown said...

Koshcat: Because he is THE ONE!

Tehachapi Tom said...

Hawk
An interesting side light to the moon landing by Armstrong.
When they set out they were not real confident that the return launch and flight was going to work. When Armstrong was ask why then did he go he answered "for America".
bo is incapable of understanding that simple statement.

Unknown said...

Tehachapi Tom: I hadn't heard that, but it sounds very much like something Armstrong would believe and Obama wouldn't understand.

Unknown said...

Today (Friday) several of the nets have mentioned how uncomfortable they think Armstrong would have been about the outpouring of love and honor at his passing. But they also mention that he probably would have been proud of the flyover, a thing quite sacred to all fliers. I couldn't tell from the videos if they did the missing man formation.

Post a Comment