The American Freedom Network

Irony or Tragedy?

February 3, 2009 – 11:03 am

Dear MUT: I heard that Obama is not having the Marine Band strike up “Hail to the Chief”, but rather Sting’s “Desert Rose”, at his appearances; is this true?

Dear Friend: I must admit, I was somewhat skeptical of this report. As much as I love Sting’s song, considering how Obama must deal with volatile Middle Eastern situations, I figured there is no way he would utilize a song that so obviously features Arabic! Turns out, I was wrong:

Via Newsbusters:

Veteran CBS Radio White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports that President Obama is relaxing more than the dress code at the presidential mansion. Pomp is giving way to piano-bar pop:

On Day One of his presidency, everywhere Mr. Obama went they played “Hail to the Chief” for him – but not since. In fact the U.S. Marine Band’s duties at the White House over the last 10 days appear to have been dramatically downsized.

Instead of the usual contingent of trumpets, tubas and drums, a single piano player now provides musical interludes before and after the president’s appearance.

And the tunes have little connection to the military marching music of John Phillips Souza [sic] that is the usual accompaniment to presidential appearances. These days the pianist’s repertoire includes Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” and Sting’s “Desert Rose.”

“He’s not a ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ kind of guy,” says press secretary Robert Gibbs of the new president.

Obama diminishes himself in so many ways by this action. “Hail to the Chief” is not a signature song for any one man, but is intended to show respect for the Office of the President of the United States. Obama is not the President of some cool fraternity, but of a great nation with 232 years of tradition. And, do not get me started on the disrespect it shows to the US Marines and the other branches of our military.

In a not entirely unrelated subject, Judea Pearl (the father of slain journalist Daniel Pearl) wonders if his son died in vain.

When we ask ourselves what it is about the American psyche that enables genocidal organizations like Hamas — the charter of which would offend every neuron in our brains — to become tolerated in public discourse, we should take a hard look at our universities and the way they are currently being manipulated by terrorist sympathizers.

At my own university, UCLA, a symposium last week on human rights turned into a Hamas recruitment rally by a clever academic gimmick. The director of the Center for Near East Studies carefully selected only Israel bashers for the panel, each of whom concluded that the Jewish state is the greatest criminal in human history.

The primary purpose of the event was evident the morning after, when unsuspecting, uninvolved students read an article in the campus newspaper titled, “Scholars say: Israel is in violation of human rights in Gaza,” to which the good name of the University of California was attached. This is where Hamas scored its main triumph — another inch of academic respectability, another inroad into Western minds.

Danny’s picture is hanging just in front of me, his warm smile as reassuring as ever. But I find it hard to look him straight in the eyes and say: You did not die in vain.