The latest right-wing "scandal" - Umbrellagate!

A'isha

Miss Schoolteacher
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Since all the previous "scandals" haven't worked out so well for the right, they've now fixated on the news that two Marines held umbrellas over Prime Minister Erdogan and President Obama during a press conference outside the White House.

This is, apparently, an outrage or something.
 
I first heard about this from seeing someone share Sarah Palin's latest (likely ghost-written) rant on Facebook.
 
In the sense thar everything he does is wrong. Or at least in the eyes of a select group
 
It is funny someone said anything about it.
Somebody will always make something out of nothing. But I have to admit when I saw that on the news I thought I would hate to have someone holding an umbrella for me and would have held it myself. I would not be surprised if there is some protocol about it.
 
Since all the previous "scandals" haven't worked out so well for the right, they've now fixated on the news that two Marines held umbrellas over Prime Minister Erdogan and President Obama during a press conference outside the White House.

This is, apparently, an outrage or something.

The protocol in question, Marine Corps regulation MCO P1020.34F, refers specifically to disallowing Marines to carry umbrellas while in formation, or while wearing a utility uniform. Nothing in the regulation prohibits the marine from assisting a civilian with an umbrella.

Linky to the Regulation (PDF)
 
Now that I read the article it is stupider than I thought.
Was the president supposed to know about Marine umbrella protocol?!
 
Since all the previous "scandals" haven't worked out so well for the right, they've now fixated on the news that two Marines held umbrellas over Prime Minister Erdogan and President Obama during a press conference outside the White House.

This is, apparently, an outrage or something.

Wow! I think you have found a yet unexplored depth of pettiness in that article. I don't blame Obama one bit.
 
The protocol in question, Marine Corps regulation MCO P1020.34F, refers specifically to disallowing Marines to carry umbrellas while in formation, or while wearing a utility uniform. Nothing in the regulation prohibits the marine from assisting a civilian with an umbrella.

Linky to the Regulation (PDF)

I would imagine that it really doesn't matter when the civilian asking for assistance is the Commander in Chief.

One of my rather conservative facebook friends keeps calling him 'King Obama', and 'Oh noes, He didn't want to get WET, and forced these marines to violate regulations!'
 
Now that I read the article it is stupider than I thought.
Was the president supposed to know about Marine umbrella protocol?!

Canned response:

That's why he has advisers. Clearly, he is out of touch with how our military operates.

*shakes off that nasty devil's advocate*
 
The protocol in question, Marine Corps regulation MCO P1020.34F, refers specifically to disallowing Marines to carry umbrellas while in formation, or while wearing a utility uniform. Nothing in the regulation prohibits the marine from assisting a civilian with an umbrella.

Linky to the Regulation (PDF)

I'm going to withhold judgement until after multiple Congressional committees have held hearings on the incident.
 
It looks absolutely ridiculous to have a marine standing at guard and holding a freakin' umbrella that way. I don't think that originally it was about the code, maybe someone mentioned how ridiculous it looks, and then someone half mentioned about the code they ran with that.

But looking at the picture Obama looks like a total moron having a marine hold his umbrella for him, it demeans the marine and just looks bad. Why didn't he have one of his cronies stand behind him with the umbrella?

I usually disagree with the Anti Obama freaks, but this just bad.
 
A writer for Wonkette asked an actual US Marine about this "scandal".

The answer is...not at all safe for work!

I GUARANTEE YOU!” he yelled, “IF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF GIVES YOU A LAWFUL ORDER YOU FOLLOW THE [Expletive deleted] LAWFUL ORDER. IF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF WANTS AN UMBRELLA YOU BETTER BELIEVE A WHOLE [Expletive deleted] GRIP OF JARHEARDS ARE GONNA BE HIGH-STEPPING TO BRING HIM A [Expletive deleted] UMBRELLA!”

And then he warmed up. “IN FACT! THE REAL [Expletive deleted] SCANDAL IS THAT THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF WASN’T THE ONE HOLDING IT. ‘YOU! CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS! HOLD MY [Expletive deleted] UMBRELLA!’”

:D
 
It is a bit silly.

What's the charge? That having somebody hold an umbrella for you is wimpy?

What does it matter if the president is effete, effeminate, and kind of wimpy? Do these traits affect his ability to govern? Probably not at all.

So what if Obama throws a baseball like a weak, poorly-coordinated child? He wasn't elected to strike people out, he was elected to make tough decisions. Wearing mom-jeans around town, while a bit off-putting, shouldn't have any effect on his ability to make those decisions.

Why do we need our presidents to be "manly". It seems a bit primitive to want tough, macho guys in charge when brawn isn't necessary for the task at hand. Athletic ability is also overrated - what does that matter? Sports are just a distraction. Obama has big fish to fry; his inability to hit the broad side of a barn in his favorite sport has no bearing on crucial matters of state and national security.

Bravo to Obama for breaking the cycle and showing the American people that nary a whiff of masculinity is required to perform presidential duties.

Mom Jeans.jpg
 
It's not about Obama looking weak, it's about how ridiculous he's making the marine look. As if he doesn't realize the intense dedication and discipline Marine's have because he's never served in the military himself. If Iamsson was on here, he'd being going half insane over this picture. LOL
 

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