Pirate's Cove

If it’s Thanksgiving, must be just another day to whine about how meanly Barry Obama is being treated

It’s now official: So in vogue are attacks on President Obama that even his proclamation calling the nation to a day of Thanksgiving has become the focus of criticism.

Presidential Thanksgiving messages are a routine bit of executive prose that most citizens happily ignore in this moment of national gratitude. But the sky-is-falling mood that pervades Obama commentary couldn’t let this 435-word document pass without a few sniffs of disapproval.

The Web site Gawker called it an “uninspiring first effort from our most literary president” and expressed hope that he would spend “a little more time on it next year.” Politico damned it with faint analysis — it was “basic” and “brief” and “tread lightly” to avoid controversy.

Somebody call E.J. a waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-mbulance. I don’t remember E.J. discussing and decrying the disgusting personal smears on George W. Bush, his wife, or his kids, do you?

Mostly, the message reiterated familiar Obama themes of diversity, community and service. The opening line referred to Thanksgiving as “a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities,” and Obama called attention to “the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our Nation.”

If you remember from back on Wednesday, I said the beginning part was actually pretty good, before degenerating into typical Obama narcissism.

Maybe they’ll surprise me, but I’m willing to bet that a right-wing talk jock near you will soon be declaring the “indigenous communities” reference “un-American,” and the call to service as yet another shout-out to “socialism.” We’ll also hear that the document never uses the word “prayer,” and that its one nod to God is in a quotation from George Washington (unless you count its mention of “houses of worship,” and the “year of Our Lord” in the date).

I wonder if Elizabeth Janet Dionne, Jr. happened to notice that the two sites he references are left leaning before he went down his right wing talk jocks road?

I thought about putting E.J. in a tutu, but, alas, I am not near photoshop at the moment, so, just use your imagination, then scratch your eyeballs to remove said visual.