Do Look Down

There has been a big deal made out of Senator Joe Wilson (R-SC) yelling "Liar" during President Obama's big speech last night in front of a joint session of Congress. People are outraged that someone would yell at a President. I heard one analyst on CNN call a joint session of Congress "one of the most sacred meetings of our government". Sacred? Really? Regardless, if I recall, this is the United States of America. We have the 1st Amendment here; the right to free speech. Granted, Wilson represents everything I hate about the Republican Party (rich, white and Southern), but he stills has the right to voice his opinion, and the opinion of his constituents. This episode, and the reaction to it, represents how elitist our politicians are. Since when do we have such a high standard of manners in this country? Furthermore, what would the reaction be if someone yelled that at Bush during one of his speeches about Iraq?

Although I disagree with him, I admire the fact that a congressman had the fortitude to publicly call out the President. The job of the Legislative Branch is to check the powers of the President. Senator Wilson did just that. Had Democrats and Republicans had the same fortitude in 2002 and 2003, about 50,000 more young Americans would be alive today rather than dead in Iraq. The President is not our King, not our one Ruler. He must constantly be kept in check by the people and those who represent the people. It's about time someone stood up to the Office of the President. The Executive, under W. increased its power exponentially. Obama has not once mentioned scaling back executive power. No ruler will give up his power once given to him. People yelling at the President is necessary to an active democracy. What is even more vital, however, is that we, as the American public take every opportunity to yell at our elected officials.

H.L. Mencken is credited as saying that, "The only way a reporter should look at a politician is down."


Yea.