Defending the Office of the President of the United States

Several prominent Bush foes in Congress have stood up for him against Hugo Chavez's speech at the UN yesterday:

Charlie Rangel (D-NY):

I just want to make it abundantly clear to Hugo Chavez or any other president, do not come to the United States and think because we have problems with our president that any foreigner can come to our country and not think that Americans do not feel offended when you offend our Chief of State..."

And Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

Hugo Chavez fancies himself a modern day Simon Bolivar but all he is an everyday thug...[he] abused the privilege that he had, speaking at the United Nations. He demeaned himself and he demeaned Venezuela.

It's interesting to see Democrats standing up for the Presidency in a rare sign of respect for the office in this day and age. Oh, I have no illusion they've suddenly come over to Bush's side, but at least there's an outward regard for the kind of respect the President of the United States deserves from the people of the U.S., regardless of who the officeholder is.

It's too bad neither the Democrats or Republicans have shown this regard for the office over the last several years or so - ever since the Clinton election (which is how far back my general political knowledge goes) respect for the actual office has eroded as more and more people on both sides of the political spectrum confused the office with the man (men) and degraded it beyond recognition. One only has to listen to Rush Limbaugh's Clinton imitations and all the "Chimpy W. McBoozy" jokes from the last few years to see common dignity has lapsed.

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for well intentioned political satire like on "Saturday Night Live", but the disrespect we've seen for the Office of the Presidency has been staggering. Maybe Rangel and Pelosi represent a change in the wind, maybe not. We can only hope others follow their example and ask themselves where their standards really lie.

Unfortunately, you still get idiocy like this:

In the first TV ad of his gubernatorial campaign, a giant-sized Jim Bryson is shown holding a diminutive and stumbling Phil Bredesen in the palm of his outstretched hand as a narrator denounces the incumbent governor.

*sigh*