Obama Will Not Send Member of His Administration to Margaret Thatcher’s Funeral
Friends and allies of Baroness Thatcher expressed ‘surprise and disappointment’ last night as it emerged President Obama is not planning to send any serving member of his administration to her funeral.
Whitehall sources have revealed that the US delegation at tomorrow’s service in St Paul’s Cathedral will be led by two Reagan era secretaries of state: James Baker and George Shultz.
The article reports that the decision was made before yesterday’s bombings in Boston.
How surprised are we, really?
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:18 amBut there’s the Muslim Brotherhood group to ‘connect all U.S. schools’ http://po.st/fYWpYj
crooked wren (26f645) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:22 amNancy Reagan is old and frail and I understand that she is therefore sending a representative instead of going herself. I am gratified that Dick Cheney is going. I am disappointed that neither of the Bushes or Clinton are.
nk (d4662f) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:29 amjesus god what a petty little whore this man is
#notmypresident
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:34 amAnd our sitting Secretary of State (Do you know who he is!) is eating sashimi and criticizing America’s freedoms in a country without a vestige of the concepts of freedom, liberty or individual rights in its gene pool.
nk (d4662f) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:34 amDidn’t he claim to following in her footsteps?
What is his deal with screwing over England?
JD (b63a52) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:40 amI at first wanted to say sarcastically that Obama and his people were far, far more emotionally distraught by the death of Hugo Chavez than someone like Margaret Thatcher—I admit to not being well-read enough several weeks ago to be aware of any controversy when Chavez’s funueral was held. But, in reality, that would not have been sarcasm. Not one bit.
Mark (853dbe) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:43 amIn my view, this is an error in judgment and optics toward our closest ally, but we are well represented by two fine American leaders, James Baker and George Shultz.
Perry (d7a158) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:47 amAlmost one year ago today, President Obama spoke of the “War on Women” and warned women voters that Republicans in Congress and Mitt Romney want to “close doors of opportunity we thought we’d kicked open a long time ago.”
Did you catch how he used the word “WE”?
It is truly ironic that he and his administration now refuse to attend the funeral a woman that actually did some of that kicking by becoming the first female leader of a world superpower.
Susan (4d6083) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:00 amBadly done, ObEmma.
SarahW (b0e533) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:06 amMaybe he is sending an iPod with his greatest eulogies loaded on it.
JD (554e77) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:07 amIt is a little surprising that Obama is as hostile toward the UK as he is since Labour, and now the Conservatives, have been destroying the economy in a fashion very similar to his own policies.
No surprise that he isn’t interested in Thatcher and is in Chavez.
Mike K (87eb3a) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:09 amThe White House would most likely have sent Biden and considering what a foolish, foolish man he is, maybe it’s better this way.
Pious Agnostic (6ff605) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:12 amWell I hoped that the deaths would have given him the catalyst to rise above his and his party’s petty decitful ways – but pharoahs heart is hardened.
History is not going to treat Obama and his party well, forever are they going to pay a heavy heavy price for their indifference and arrogance.
Starting in two years.
E.PWJ (bdd0a6) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:25 amHe’s still carrying that old post-colonial hate chip for Britain around? Very poor attitude for a US president.
grayton b (167557) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:31 amI am disappointed that neither of the Bushes or Clinton are [going to attend].
I am a little bit more sanguine about Obama’s decision not to send representatives from his administration. Unlike Chavez, who was currently the leader of the state, Mrs. Thatcher had been out of power for over 20 years. It would have been a classy move to send an administration representative, but I have long since come to the conclusion that Obama can’t be depended upon to act with class. I don’t believe, however, that protocol was breached in this case.
I wish that GW Bush had gone in order to represent his father, who is probably too frail to make the trip himself, but he has a new grandchild and he may not have wanted to commit to the trip while his daughter’s due date was so imminent.
JVW (4826a9) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:32 amI wonder what friends and allies of the Baroness really think.
Ramirez needs to make a cartoon of this reminiscent of the video of her one exchange in parliament, with Obama sending a telegram about how he thinks Thatcher’s policies were deplorable and he’s glad that Britain is no longer a world power
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:40 amand Thatcher looking down with Churchill and Reagan next to her,
but I can’t decide if:
she is saying to Obama, and you sir, known we hold your policies of wanting to make the poor poorer and the oppressed less free with contempt
or
looking to the others and asking, “Did you hear something?”.
Maybe he could offer both and take a poll.
Why does Barry Obama hate female prime ministers ?
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:48 amwell, he’s a very poor president, so at least he’s consistent.
redc1c4 (403dff) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:54 amWe can’t expect Obama to attend Thatcher’s funeral during the final week of the NBA regular season. Get real.
When Bill Ayers dies, I bet Obama will attend his funeral….you know, even though Ayers was “just a guy in the neighborhood.”
Besides, Thatcher was that woman who fought Argentina for jurisdiction over “the Malvinas.” (sic)
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:55 amWhy does Barry Obama hate female prime ministers ?
redc1c4 (403dff) — 4/16/2013 @ 8:55 amhe hates women in general: that’s why he pays them less.
No, “the Malvinas” is right (as in what he was aiming for); what’s “sic” is the Maldives.
Milhouse (15b6fd) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:09 amWell, someone should tell our friends in Great Britain that after the next election the US President will have a bit more flexibility to deal with situations like this.
ropelight (dec74b) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:14 amProbably better that he didn’t go. There would have been some faux pas. There always is with this clown.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:25 amSomeone ought to tell Barry that no one will be coming to his funeral. Karma is a *itch.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:27 amI have come to the conclusion that I really want to meet President Obama, so I can be introduced to him, look at his out-held hand, about face, and walk away talking to the nearest waitperson. He wouldn’t understand the Cut Direct — or perhaps he just wouldn’t notice that it had been done.
htom (412a17) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:31 amMilhouse, thanks, yeah, I just realized I meant to write “the Maldives.” (sic)
Obviously, the Malvinas is the correct Argentinian name.
As you know, what was so typically subversive about what Obama said, is that he was attempting to use the Argentinian name for the Falklands, rather than the established English (Falklands) name that the US President should be using in public since Great Britain is one of our best allies.
Yet another example of his post-colonial, post-modern, Alinskyite strategy at work.
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:35 amThe job of the Vice-President is to attend State Funerals, and to wait for the President to stop breathing.
Thankfully, Sloe-Joe is essentially unemployed, and will not further antagonize those few friends we have left in the World.
Teh Won will have a fantastic turnout for his funeral, but only if he dies in office –
askeptic (b8ab92) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:46 ammillions will show up to find out who will now pay for their gas, mortgage, cell-phone, etc.
After leaving office, they’ll just give his body an enema, and bury him in an old tobacco tin, with a few old hard-core Commies in attendance.
Our esteemed host asked:
It depends on what you mean. Am I surprised that our President doesn’t feel like showing respect for the former Prime Minister? No, I am not surprised at all. After all, it might invite comparisons to how great a leader Mrs Thatcher was, and how lousy a President he is. Nor does it surprise me that the President who wants to find some compromise between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falklands, despite the fact that the population wants to remain British, would want to urinate off the Argentinians by honoring the leader who wrested back the Falklands from under the boot heels of the scummy invaders.
Does it surprise me that he’s making a political gaffe? That, maybe.
Perhaps Prime Minister Cameron can send our President a DVD of the funeral.
The saddened Dana (af9ec3) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:52 amKevin M wrote:
President Obama could decide to schedule his funeral for my small hometown, with services at a church a block away, and I wouldn’t attend.
The honest Dana (af9ec3) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:56 amSince the Queen is attending the funeral you would think at least Michelle would want to be there to give her another hug.
I understand Barky is too busy to go preparing for Cinquo de Quatro next month.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:00 amdaleyrocks wrote:
Perhaps someone has informed the First Lady of the difference between class and déclassé; Her Majesty has the former, while the Obama really don’t.
The honest Dana (af9ec3) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:05 amHow disappointed are we, really?
egd (d580cc) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:08 amAs you know, what was so typically subversive about what Obama said, is that he was attempting to use the Argentinian name for the Falklands, rather than the established English (Falklands) name that the US President should be using in public since Great Britain is one of our best allies.
It’s even worse. Obama actually used both “Falklands” and “Maldives [Malvinas]” in the same sentence. Here is the quote from Dear Leader:
http://harndenblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/04/obamas-real-maldives-gaffe-abandoning-britain-on-the-falklands.html
What I hate about Obama using both terms is that it is so indicative of the left-wing mindset of “you say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to.” Let’s be sure to use both terms and be “open-minded” and “fair,” lest we actually have to take sides on a contentious issue. This is part and parcel of his misguided approach to North Korea, Israel & Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and just about everywhere else. Someday progressives are going to learn that when you try to please everyone — even at the cost of compromising principles — you end up pleasing no one and you throw away your credibility in the process.
JVW (4826a9) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:11 amhonest Dana, “Her Majesty” is what Reggie Love calls Obama.
Gus (694db4) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:16 amGus: which one?
The inquisitive Dana (af9ec3) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:18 amGiven the dumped, I suspect Gus is referring to Baack.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:30 amHeh. Auto correct changed rumors to dumped. What a strange thought process some computer types have.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:31 amAnd it changed Barack to Baack. Double Heh.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:33 amJVW,
Excellent point, friend.
Obama is the American President who bows to the Saudi King, and asks the Dalai Lama to exit the White House at the rear entrance so as not to “offend” China, and blows off Prime Minister Netanyahu, yet when it comes to speaking publicly about a war that involved our closest European ally (Great Britain), he literally pulls the ‘you say, to-MAY-toe, I say to-MAH-to.’
My contempt for this President exceeds his contempt for Western Civilization—and that’s saying a lot, considering how much Obama loathes the West.
Yet another example of the
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:33 amCambridge PoliceAmerican President acting stupidly.Obama lacks all class.
SPQR (768505) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:38 amMichelle is said to have had a conversation with Queen Elizabeth. Michelle wondered, “Could I be called the Queen of America?” The Queen said, “No, dear, America would need to be a kingdom for that”. Michelle then asked, “Could I be the Princess of America?” The Queen said, “Again no, dear, America would need to be a principality”. Michelle persisted, “Could I be a Duchess?” The Queen sighed, “No, Michelle, that would require America to be a Dukedom.” Michelle looked disappointed. “It’s ok, dear,” the Queen comforted Michelle, “you are doing just fine with America being a country”.
nk (d4662f) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:39 amnk,
Ha, ha,…very nice…Duke=Dukedom is to a C*&t=Country.
Elephant Stone (8a7f08) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:42 amSeriously. How would Obama have class? Communist slut mother? Commie Daddy #1? Commie Daddy #2? Communist Grandparents and typical white people??
Gus (694db4) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:44 amFrank Marshall Davis??? POCK-EEE-STAWNEE gay boys he hung with at Occidental.
I’m not kidding. Where would Obama have learned to be classy and American?? Axelrod? Emanuel? Jeremiah Wright? Bill Ayers??
Who raised Obama,and what kind of people were they?
Heh. Auto correct changed rumors to dumped. What a strange thought process some computer types have.
If you think auto-correct is funny, you should see what alcohol can do to tweets.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:59 amNext time Obama goes to the UK, the queen should gift him with a bust of Thatcher, telling him to keep it for his successor who will no doubt appreciate the thought.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 4/16/2013 @ 11:01 amPerhaps the UK will send busts of Churchill and Thatcher to 0’s funeral.
htom (412a17) — 4/16/2013 @ 11:20 amPresident O’Bumbles never fails to slight any of our allies, especially GB. I am not surprised. This is a long standing policy of his going back to day 1 of his presidency.
dfbaskwill (ca54bb) — 4/16/2013 @ 11:26 amAnd simply because he was speaking English, not Spanish.
Milhouse (15b6fd) — 4/16/2013 @ 1:10 pmIt seems that Obama can’t control his emotions when it comes to England.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/16/2013 @ 1:12 pmNah, HM is not a fan of Our Maggie. HM is probably, like most of her class, a moderate lefty of the patronising kind. For social spending to keep the proles happy, and screw the bourgeoisie.
Milhouse (15b6fd) — 4/16/2013 @ 1:19 pmIt’s not always the big things that give an insight into the minds of our leaders. When Elian Gonzalez was being returned to Cuba, President Clinton expressed no remorse, nor could he bring himself to say anything about how much better this country is than Cuba. That told me everything I needed to know about him.
Joe Miller (00407a) — 4/16/2013 @ 1:59 pmNah, HM is not a fan of Our Maggie. HM is probably, like most of her class, a moderate lefty of the patronising kind. For social spending to keep the proles happy, and screw the bourgeoisie.
I don’t think so, Milhouse. I read Sally Bedell Smith’s biography of the Queen (fascinating book, by the way) and she reports that though the two were temperamentally different owing to their backgrounds (Thatcher being naturally bellicose, Elizabeth being naturally conciliatory), they share a mutual respect and even a degree of admiration for one another.
It’s also an open question as to what exactly the Queen’s personal politics are. In some ways she may be moderately-left (noblesse oblige, for example) but she is most certainly a traditionalist which fits in solidly with old-time Tory conservatism. She was also supposedly a staunch supporter of Mrs. Thatcher’s actions regarding the Falklands, when most of the upper-class English left wanted diplomacy to lead to relinquishing British claims on the islands.
JVW (4826a9) — 4/16/2013 @ 2:06 pm52. Comment by Joe Miller (00407a) — 4/16/2013 @ 1:59 pm
It’s not always the big things that give an insight into the minds of our leaders. When Elian Gonzalez was being returned to Cuba, President Clinton expressed no remorse, nor could he bring himself to say anything about how much better this country is than Cuba. That told me everything I needed to know about him.
I guess it’s always a different thing with everybody, but that was pretty late. There’s what he said about the Waco fire (although maybe that wasn’t so well known)
And the genocide in Rwanda.
If Clinton would have expressed any remorse, or said something about how much better the United states was than Cuba, that would have implied he did something bad.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 4/16/2013 @ 2:26 pmIf Clinton would have expressed any remorse, or said something about how much better the United states was than Cuba, that would have implied he did something bad.
Remember what P.J. O’Rourke told us 20 years ago: Cuba is a country with one-party rule, free health care, civil service jobs for everyone, total gun control, and government-run media. Bill and Hillary Clinton have spent their whole lives trying to bring these ideas to America, so of course they hate anyone who would dare to escape Castro’s island paradise.
JVW (4826a9) — 4/16/2013 @ 2:32 pmObama lacks all class.
Comment by SPQR (768505) — 4/16/2013 @ 10:38 am
— He can’t even think of a word that rhymes.
Icy (075d3c) — 4/16/2013 @ 3:01 pmComment by Icy (075d3c) — 4/16/2013 @ 3:01 pm
So many brilliant cultural references are lost on all the younguns.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 4/16/2013 @ 3:31 pmWhich is precisely what Thatcher did not do. Thatcher was an old-time Liberal, not a Tory. That’s why she had such problems with the Tories. She was a grocer’s daughter, very much a champion of bourgeois values; the old-time Tory attitude to her was summed up by Ted Heath’s comment that her cabinet seemed to have more Estonians than Etonians. Which may not have been literally true, but it was certainly true in principle; any Etonians in her cabinet were there despite that background, not because of it.
Milhouse (15b6fd) — 4/16/2013 @ 3:55 pmA classic.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/16/2013 @ 4:10 pmSilly Milhouse … our Iron Maiden was never a Liberal … she was effectively liberal, believing in the freedoms of the individual …
W@hat many over here in the US do not realise is that she was re-elected as Prime Minister more than once because the electorate recognised and appreciated her basic honesty – and they respected that, whether or not they liked *her* …
The UK also had a long history of biased newspapers, which proudly announced their bias … so most of the country was able to make their own minds up about what is real and what isn’t … they could read propaganda, consider the source, and adjust accordingly …
Over here, people are only gradually acquiring those skills … the hard way … as more and more folk realise that the prices of basics are going up, healthcare that used to be standard with most employment is becoming more and more rare as folk are ‘adjusted’ to 30 hour work-weeks, and so on …
If any statue was going to be sent to Pres’ent Obama’s funeral, it would be ‘The Hand of Obama-Froendship’ – with a proudly-erect middle finger …
Except that most conservative folk have too much class to do such a thing at such a time – because the Obama daughters would not deserve it …
Alasdair (19af85) — 4/16/2013 @ 5:08 pmno surprise… TFG can just send them a dvd of his most endearing, eloquent speechifyings. That should give the old gal a thrill up her leg.
Colonel Haiku (92bf35) — 4/16/2013 @ 5:34 pmJust when I thought it wasn’t possible for Obama to embarrass his nation further than his earlier rudeness;he managed to beat his old record. He really does position himself to line up with the likes of Castro and Chavez against the Western world. He hates Great Britain and perceives it as the aging grandmother of a great colonial power,the imperialist conqueror of Kenya and his father’s people. A taste of revenge on his mind? Here’s a bet that he would find a way to miss Elizabeth’s II funeral if he could manage it.
Ghost_on_the_Wind (fa4071) — 4/16/2013 @ 5:58 pmI applaud the President for not asking members of the Westboro Baptist Church to attend the funeral in his place.
John W (e6db3e) — 4/16/2013 @ 6:28 pmSomeday (I hope very soon) when Obama is backed into a corner, he’s going to find that he’s not exactly George Bailey.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 4/16/2013 @ 6:56 pmHis pettiness, his empty contempt for our traditions, is stunning.
Well, not to me, but to all the idiots who voted for him.
Patricia (be0117) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:23 pmYes, that’s what I said. She was an old-time Liberal, not a Tory. She’d have fit right in with the Anti Corn Law League, and in the Liberal Party that arose from it. Freedom if the individual is the core of middle class bourgeois values, so loathed by both tories and socialists.
Well, she tried to build up a middle class and promote those values; for a short time she succeeded, but ultimately it didn’t last. Thatcherism is unfortunately as dead as she is.
Milhouse (15b6fd) — 4/16/2013 @ 7:55 pmShould have sent Biden. Coach.
East Bay Jay (a5dac7) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:04 pmNEW ENGLAND – THEN AND NOW
(inspired by the Boston bombing)
THEN – Puritans, following God’s laws,
start the greatest nation ever.
NOW – Impure-itans, perverting God’s laws,
lead in destroying the greatest nation ever.
(For more hechos, Google “God to
Same-Sexers: Hurry Up” and “The
Background Obama Can’t Cover Up.”)
[Preceding snippet found on the net]
Benny (b7ed67) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:24 pmit’s a little late for the Yes There Really Are People Who Think This Way talk is my understanding
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/16/2013 @ 9:28 pmPeople must look to themselves first.
dave (aee97b) — 4/17/2013 @ 4:38 am