Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani shared thoughts on President Obama over a recent dinner with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, some business executives, and a few media mavens. The longtime Republican curmudgeon said this:
"… I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America. He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country…”
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani shared thoughts on President Obama over a recent dinner with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, some business executives, and a few media mavens. The longtime Republican curmudgeon said this:
"… I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America. He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country…”
One has to wonder when the good mayor developed the power of seeing into another man's soul, and whether he’d be willing to use such a skill to serve the U.S. in, say, negotiating with Iran or North Korea or some other regime.
Assuming that Mr. Giuliani's remarks were made during some spirited discussion of the President’s policymaking and leadership shortcomings, we note this type of commentary is known as an ad hominem attack. The argument is that the Chief Executive does not love the country, therefore anything he does is detrimental to it.
Rather than making a cogent argument as to why the president's policies were, in his estimation, misguided, Giuliani chose to attack the President, suggesting the latter's actions could only be explained by a lack of affection for Mother and Apple Pie. This does not give us a logical framework with which to compare opposing schools of thought as to the issues our nation faces. It merely plays to those who dislike Obama. In the end, the mayor's lack of love suggestion is intellectually hollow.
If the local zoning board refused to make a property reclassification I favored, I should be laughed out of the room if I stated the board members’ refusal stemmed from their absence of love for my municipality. If the County Commissioners, City Council, State Legislature, or Governor voted for projects with which I disagree, any claim I made about their hatred for the county or city or state should rightfully be rejected as a waste of time.
We suppose Mayor Giuliani enjoys a little more attention paid to his fading political star. Perhaps, after a full meal, the blood was being used in his digestive system, not in his brain, and the best he could do was preach meaningless jabber to the choir.
But meaningless speculation to confirm your dislike of political opponents serves neither the voting public nor our nation’s future; something more substantial is needed if we are to chart the American future. If we allow the political establishment to cynically focus solely on image and brand, We the People have little hope of moving toward a more perfect Union, establishing Justice, and securing the Blessings of Liberty.
In showing that they care more for winning elections than helping the country, our political class demonstrates quite clearly just how much they love America.
Pat Grimes, a former South Bay resident, writes from Ypsilanti, Mich. He can be reached at pgwriter@inbox.com
