Class & Glimmer

There is one word that defines the glaring difference between President Obama and his heckling, right-wing opponents: class.

While the President is calm, measured, respectful and articulate, his right-wing counterparts come off as deranged and uneducated country bumpkins with serious racial overtones.

Their acceptance and encouragement of imperceptive behavior, blatant disrespect for the office of the President and their perpetuation of vile public demonstrations shows the GOP – finally – for what they really are.

In essence, those who identify with the current rabble signal they are not interested in patriotism. They could care less about the average man, woman and child walking down Main Street. More importantly, they have no real concern for those Americans living without health insurance who may, in some cases, die from lack of coverage. The right-wing protest against healthcare reform simply validates what most of us already know: as long as people have their own insurance security, they don't give a damn about anyone else. The sentiment reeks of anti-Americanism.

Addressing the race issue is now a moot point. It's as obvious as the day is long. However, those citizens who reject Barack Obama as their President for such reasons, despite the overwhelming election in his favor, have since stated their case as unpatriotic Americans who don't have a Christian bone in their bodies.

President Obama's natural high class is not comprised of empty rhetoric or false understanding of the issues at hand. He remains above the fray because he is a decent human being who wants to improve the lives of Americans rather than crush their hopes or fan their fears with lies and scare tactics. His intelligence and grasp of the work to be done is essential not only for the success of his Presidency but for the betterment of the nation as a whole.

Class and decency are not words commonly associated with certain members of the Republican party. Ethical character flaws and hints of bigotry aside, one might think the real needs of the American people would be paramount to the GOP and the extreme right-wing rather than the blatant attempts to destroy the moral values and good intentions of our President.

Given the last few months of acrimony, outright lies and mostly-feigned anger at summer town hall meetings, I would be reluctant to trust a member of the GOP legislative body at the moment.

However, if they were to pull themselves out of the bitter and hateful mire of their own making there still might be time for Congress to work in harmony to engender practical solutions for the American people on a myriad of issues. It sounds crazy, I know, but one can always dream. And dreams are free.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but the glimmer of hope is fading fast.