Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Obama Infuriates Right With Kids

During the president's announcement of proposed gun legislation as well as executive actions he would take there was a small but noticeable group of children to his left. The group consisted of kids that had wrote letters in the aftermath of Sandy Hook to him asking pleading with him to take action. For much of the day on Wednesday a big issue among conservatives was how "Obama has used children as political props!" 

The reality is that for as long as politicians have been kissing babies kids have been used for political advantage. The NRA itself could be guilty of using kids for political advantage in it's latest ad decrying Obama's 'kids' being protected by the secret service. They utilized this point to justify their argument that we should have more guns in schools. 

So which is over the top? 

The NRA Ad: The advertisement released prior to the president's announcement has been widely ridiculed. MSNBC host and former Republican Representative Joe Scarborough quipped that it looked more like a Saturday Night Live Ad

But is it unfair to ever mention the president’s daughters, especially if not by name? I’m not so sure. This particular ad was as illogical as it was odious. The president’s children aren’t the same as everyone else, and their security needs are different—not to mention that the Secret Service is different than a massive program to hire retired cops to guard playgrounds. But if one asks if it's OK for the Clintons and Obamas to send their kids to private school while opposing school-choice plans that give money to kids to attend private school, that’s a more reasonable question. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama could well have sent their kids to public school, as Jimmy Carter did.

Putting Kids On Stage:  It’s an honor and the memory of a lifetime to be on stage with the president, as four young Americans were on Wednesday. And their parents surely supported it. So who’s to complain—especially since the issue at hand is protecting children from gun violence? It’s not like you’re putting them out there for tax reform.

Still, it was awkward when the president had them on stage on Wednesday. Somehow, to enlist children—to essentially use them as props, albeit with their parents' consent—to support nearly two dozen executive orders and legislative proposals on gun control seems questionable. It seemed less questionable when the vice president cited one of the Virginia Tech shooting survivors who was in the audience and who still has bullet fragments in him. There, you’re at least dealing with an adult.


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