Obama Heads Home, Faces Criticism Over Memorial Day Plans
By Marcus Gilmer in News on May 28, 2010 2:00PM
While you were busy trying to figure out your escape route out of town this weekend, the Obamas were coming home for the holiday. But, of course, President Obama wasn't around long. He barely made an imprint on the bed before heading out early this morning to hit the Gulf Coast and assess the oil spill situation. He'll be back before long though and he'll mark Memorial Day honoring vets at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois. But some vets (and, well, Glenn Beck) aren't exactly happy he's bypassing the traditional Arlington National Cemetery, turning those duties over to Vice President Biden. John Conrath, commander of the American Veterans Motorcycle Riders Association Chapter 11 in Joliet, told the Southtown Star, "Obama, to me, it seems that he wants to break every tradition that this country has ever had. All these things that he's doing, it seems that he wants to ruffle everyone's feathers. It's aggravating. I really think he should be in Washington this Memorial Day weekend."
With all due respect to Mr. Conrath and the other brave veterans who we are forever indebted to for serving this country but who may not like Obama skipping out on the traditional ceremony, it seems - to us, anyway - much ado about nothing. It'd be one thing if Obama were skipping the ceremony altogether, eating bar-b-q ribs at a cookout, and then wiping his hands with the Constitution (which we imagine Beck has already accused him of doing). But he's not doing that. He's still honoring those who gave their lives, he's still acknowledging the sacrifice they made; he's just doing it at a different National Cemetery than usual. And as Media Matters points out, this isn't the first time a president has marked Memorial Day away from D.C.. As Vietnam vet Ernie Mercer said in support of Obama's Illinois visit, "We all served in the same military."