Obama’s So-Called Eulogy For John Lewis Was A Disgraceful Political Display
In a moment that required unity and celebration, Barack Obama chose cynical political rancor.
By David Marcus
AUGUST 3, 2020
Barack Obama . . . is the only president in modern memory to have ascended to the national spotlight on the power of a single speech, with his eloquent words at the 2004 Democratic Party Convention. His soaring rhetoric then and four years later on the campaign trail sought to bring Americans together. That is why the base and political nature of his eulogy for the late John Lewis is such a disappointment. . . .
. . . the former president veered into a rambling litany of radical current political demands that sounded more like a convention speech than a eulogy.
After slamming Republicans for very reasonable fears that an untried nationwide mail-in voting system could be a total mess rife with the opportunity for corruption, Obama acknowledged he was drifting into controversial territory. He said, “I know this is a celebration of John’s life. There are those who might say we shouldn’t dwell on such things. . . .
. . . This is why the laundry list of Democrat talking points Obama proceeded to launch was so misplaced and such a disgraceful use of time that should have been spent uniting Americans through the memory of one of its great leaders. Instead, Obama made it seem that if anyone should disagree with his preferred policy decisions, that person was not honoring Lewis’s legacy. At times, it became downright ridiculous.
His insistence that all good people must support statehood for Washington, DC and Puerto Rico was downright cynical. It is perfectly clear that such a move would benefit his party in ways that could lead to unshakable one-party rule. But far more cynical were the means he described to achieve this end. . . .
. . . Eulogies don’t typically come with threats of extortion, but that is exactly what Obama took this hallowed time to deliver. He said, “And if all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another Jim Crow relic, in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that is what we should do.” In other words, should Republicans fail to bend the knee, the rules will be changed to permanently keep them in a political wilderness.
What is laughable is that Obama and the Democrats seem to have no problem using this “Jim Crow relic.” . . .
. . . Just as the ban on large indoor gatherings did not apply to Democrats holding a funeral, even while millions of Americans must say goodbye to loved ones without this most human of rituals, Democrats use the filibuster willy nilly with nary a care about its supposed racist provenance. As ever, there are two sets of rules. Is that not exactly what Lewis spent his life fighting against?
Obama’s eulogy was an opportunity lost for the country to come together. Instead, it was pure partisan rancor. . .
. . . Obama . . . turned a moment of civic reflection into a campaign rally. . . .
