To ring in the New Year, President Obama has had his Defense Secretary award him the Department of Defense’s Medal for Distinguished Public Service in a public ceremony which has been called the most transparent display of self-aggrandizement in recent memory. Secretary Carter awarded Obama with the once-distinguished award during the Armed Forces Full Honor Farewell Review for the outgoing President at Conmy Hall.
Carter said the award is a token of his admiration for the president and his appreciation for Obama’s service over the past eight years. After doing everything in his power to place stumbling blocks before the Trump transition team, Obama said in his acceptance comments, “We’ve got to make sure during this transition period that there is a seamless passing of the baton, that there’s continuity.”
Taking his statements at face value, it would seem that by ‘continuity,’ he means a continuation of overt hostility toward Russia over completely unsubstantiated claims of election hacking.
In a move that has been widely regarded as a petulant series of insults directed at Vladimir Putin, including sanctions and a massive buildup of military forces on the Russian border- Obama’s receipt of the Medal for Distinguished Public Service can be interpreted in one of two ways.
First, that Secretary Carter believes antagonizing the eastern power, who has expressed an interest in friendly relations with the US, is wise; or second, that Obama has directed his secretary to hang the medal on him in a naked public relations maneuver to add a deceptive sheen to Obama’s legacy.
Considering the fact that the victims of Obama’s drone wars have been over 90% civilian, that our nation has been at war from the day he entered the Oval Office up to the day he leaves it, and that he has dropped more bombs in one year than George W. Bush dropped during his first term- it would seem that either explanation would be accurate.
It is ironic. Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the early days of his first term just for promising to work for world peace and global nuclear disarmament but his actions since then have been anything but peaceful. It’s ironic because just as ill-founded as his being given the Nobel Prize for peace, did nothing but wage war after war- now he receives an equally undeserved medal for service.
He’s bombed twice the amount of countries that his predecessor bombed, but if there’s one thing about it that’s impressive it’s the fact that the left has been utterly silent. Perhaps it’s this that makes his service distinguished- the fact that liberals don’t mind US wars of aggression as long as they are authorized by the nation’s first black president.
In a similarly dubious ceremony, President Obama has presented Vice president, Joe Biden, with the Medal of Freedom. Both Obama and Biden wiped tears from their eyes as they celebrated their approval of their own work. During the ceremony, Obama referred to Biden as, “a lion of American history” and “a humble public servant.”
The democrat from Delaware had to turn his back to the audience as tears welled up in his eyes. While the Vice President’s eyes became pregnant with tears, many in the press core were wondering- what has he accomplished?
Biden focused largely on foreign policy and economic issues during his eight years under the president. During the early months of his first term, Biden oversaw the drafting of a $787 billion economic stimulus package. He also has played a largely advisory role over affairs surrounding the occupation of Iraq.
He considered running for president in 2016, but decided early that he would not like to try his luck against Hillary Clinton- a move that would set him at odds- at least in the public eye- against both the current administration which campaigned for the Clinton candidacy vigorously.
While Biden’s list of activities during the Obama administration sound impressive at first we have only to look a bit closer to see that his receipt of the Medal of Freedom seems quite unwarranted. Having presided over a stimulus package that has run parallel to an anemic economic recovery and stubbornly low employment rates, we remain unimpressed. A cursory look at the state of Iraq returns deeply unsatisfying results as that country remains in complete tatters- and is a breeding grounds for Islamic militants.
In the end, the Obama administration has very little to be proud of and these staged award ceremonies have done very little to change that.
~ Conservative Zone
