Don't Let The Door Hit You in the Butt on Your Way Out

by
Suzann Darnall

I don't know how many of y'all saw the picture showing the Dalai Lama being sent out the back door of the White House last week, but if you missed it, please take time to check it out: Out the Back Door, Don't Slip on the Garbage . If you are anything like me, it will raise your hackles that any American President could be such a social dunce. It is an embarrassment that such an honorable man of faith should have been treated so shabbily.

A while back, Michelle Obama said, " … for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country …" Well, this isn't the first time I've been ashamed of the people in the White House, but the Obamas are definitely taking my shame to new heights. We have a veritable embarrassment of riches in shameful moments regarding the Obamas and their total lack of etiquette and decorum.

I don't just mean etiquette as in the rigid rules of which fork to use during which meal course. I mean it in the broader sense that I learned growing up. It's the idea of good manners as a way to show respect and make others feel comfortable. The rather old-fashioned, Southern-sensibilities kind of etiquette. "Yes, ma'am", "No, sir", opening doors for ladies, respecting your elders. Just plain ol' common-sense, good manners. The kind of manners that reassure others that you aren't stupid. The manners that tell people they don't shove a head of state out the back door with the garbage. Duh!

If you go to any search engine you can not only find many resources for proper etiquette and social protocols, but you can find many examples of blunders by the Obamas. Again, that embarrassment of … ummm … riches and not being prepared for or capable of performing at a lofty level of delicate society.

Some people wonder why the Obamas do not have anyone to guide them in proper protocols, as if it is somehow the fault of the whole Presidential/White House system. Well, from my understanding, it is by choice that the Obamas do not have professional guidance about fashion, gifts, protocol, etc. It is my perception that they consider themselves to be so superior to the rest of the "schmucks" who have lived in the White House that they don't need the variety of advisors and consultants used by many previous occupants of the Presidential residence to insure proper social graces are shown in their international circle. May I call it the arrogant ignorance of accidental aristocracy?

Well, I have a little advice for them … get some help! While one cannot buy class or get through being elected to high office, one can learn it, assuming one is willing to pay attention to those who can teach the lessons necessary. It's humiliating that we are the laughing stock of the world. Not only are the Obamas amusing enemies and allies, they are offending them. Neither is a good way to deal with other nations.

The Progressive elitists like to rag on President G. W. Bush for being a bit of a Texas good ol' boy. And, you know what? He is. But, he is also a consummate Southern gentleman. I don't think anyone can point to any actions by himself or Laura that were on a par with the kind of never-ending decorum gaffes we've seen from the Obamas.

You see, Dubya was born into American political aristocracy and he got his Texas drawl from association and playmates. Yale graduate, Harvard graduate, Air Force Officer, Governor! In his 8 years in the White House, he never committed monumental blunders such as the Obamas exhibit monthly, even weekly.

But, I don't think I have ever felt as much anger at a faux pas as I have at this one. This one aimed at a gentle man who is also a gentleman. The Dalai Lama is the exiled head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet. He is a Nobel Laureate, having won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet.

His Holiness enjoys worldwide recognition. He has travelled to more than 62 countries over six continents. He regularly meets with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations. He holds dialogues with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists. I doubt he has ever been put out with the garbage before. Leave it to Obama to find a unique, demeaning way to say goodbye to a supposedly honored guest.

I know some people will excuse Obama's behavior on the basis that he was trying not to insult the Chinese, who own more of our debt than most of us can ever fully comprehend. But, you know what? I don't buy that! Because, if an American President is going to allow our country to be run long distance because of debt, he'd danged well better find a way to get us out of debt ASAP. If he doesn't, then we are no longer the United States of America, land of the free and home of the brave, but just another Chinese Province under Communist rule. And, I for one, don't buy into that scenario. Obama is beholden to the Chinese now to the point where he feels forced to kowtow to them and is obligated to dismiss the Dalai Lama as jetsam. A man already relegated to be human flotsam by the Chi-Com who have forced him from his homeland and subjugated his countrymen.

Oh, I'm sure some of y'all wondered about the title of this article. "Don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out" is sort of a Southern way of hurrying unwanted folks on their way. I believe Yankees used to tend towards "Here's your hat, what's your hurry?" And, I'm not aiming it at the Dalai Lama, although that may be what Obama was feeling as he tried to make it as short and unnoticed a visit as possible. I was aiming it directly at the Obamas. I'd like to see them vacate the premises as soon as we can vote him out of office in 2012. In fact, this man is enough to make you wish we held Presidential elections every year, instead of only every four.

Let us not lose our anger at Obama and his Progressive cohorts. Let us hope Conservative values and common sense see us through to victories over stupidity and cupidity in 2010 and 2012. You might need a little something extra to raise your ire before casting your votes. Just make sure you don't slip into the go-along to get-along mode. Think about how Obama isn't just a lying far-left extremist who condemns much we hold of worth in this country; he is too dad-blamed dumb to know how to properly treat a guest in his home, a guest who also happens to be his elder and, at the very least, his social equivalent, if not his superior, a widely respected Buddhist who should have been shown to the front door with all honors and dignity due a guest and head of state.

© Suzann C. Darnall, FEBRUARY 2010