PrintMarch 20, 2010
Mr. President, sir: You are no gentleman
As a college student, I committed to memory a "position statement"; its 123 words summarized and encapsulated all that my father had tried to teach me through his own life.
The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.
John Walter Wayland (circa 1899).
A quick comparison of Mr. Obama with a true gentleman:
"The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies"
Leaving aside the ideas of good will and acute propriety, how can we feel confident in a man whose self-control evaporates in the absence of a tele-prompter?
"[W]ho does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity":
Everything that Obama does and says is designed to make the poor resentful of their poverty, make contented people bitter in their new-found obscurity, and apprise capable citizens of their inherited disadvantages.
"[W]ho is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another":
Is any comment necessary here?
"[W]ho does not [a.] flatter wealth, [b.] cringe before power, or [c.] boast of his own possessions or achievements":
(a) Tony Rezko. Andy Stern. Michael Moore? (b) Grovel before foreign despots? (c) "I won the election [so shut up]!"
"[W]ho speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy":
Enter your own joke here.
"[W]hose deed follows his word":
Maybe the president deserves some slack on this one; his true character and goals were discernable despite his campaign speeches.
"[W]ho thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own":
Absolutely consistent--unless you're talking about the rights and "consent of the governed."
"[A]nd who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe":
Even with the assistance of the MSM, President Obama would be wise to avoid comparison with POTUS #1 on this subject.
Or, for that matter, Tony Soprano.
John Peeples
