Oaths, themselves, seem like a clinging relic from the past, but they’re not. We think of oaths as a verbal bond, a declaration that you subscribe to an idea beyond impulsive self-interest. We use oaths less these days, and the ones we still have seem to have lost a bit of their luster. We take vows (the brother of the oath), but nearly half of marriages end in divorce. Perjury charges demand truthfulness in the court of law these days more than one’s oath to tell the truth. But most disturbingly, elected officials seem all-too-willing to abandon what they have sworn to do.
Recently, Glenn Reynolds (of Instapundit) has been raising the question if whether or not Obama should resign as he is no longer willing to uphold his oath of office.
Reynolds began his analysis of the situation by discussing the recent move by federal authorities to bring in for questioning the man believed to have made the movie that discusses Islam that has, allegedly, sparked the attacks throughout the Middle East. Reynolds then writes,
“When taking office, the President does not swear to create jobs. He does not swear to ‘grow the economy.’ He does not swear to institute ‘fairness.’ The only oath the President takes is this one:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
By sending — literally — brownshirted enforcers to engage in — literally — a midnight knock at the door of a man for the non-crime of embarrassing the President of the United States and his administration, President Obama violated that oath. You can try to pretty this up (It’s just about possible probation violations! Sure.), or make excuses or draw distinctions, but that’s what’s happened. It is a betrayal of his duties as President, and a disgrace.”
Reynolds makes a valid point. If we are going to get into the fine print of presidential responsibilities, chiefly among them is his obligation to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. While we, naturally, expect him to execute functions of an executive, his main priority should be the enforcement and simultaneous protection of the law.
I don’t know if they ever covered this at Columbia, but our First Amendment grants citizens the right to freedom of speech. This even covers unpopular speech and speech that inflames people half-a-world away. To roust this man to placate terrorists on the other side of the globe to detract from a president’s ineptitude and his slew of foreign policy missteps is unconscionable.
Reynold continued,
“He won’t resign, of course. First, the President has the appreciation of free speech that one would expect from a Chicago Machine politician, which is to say, none. Second, he’s not getting any pressure. Indeed, the very press that went crazy over Ari Fleischer’s misrepresented remarks seems far less interested in the actions of an administration that I repeat, literally sent brown-shirted enforcers to launch a midnight knock on a filmmaker’s door.
But Obama’s behavior — and that of his enablers in the press — has laid down a marker for those who are paying attention. By these actions he is, I repeat, unfit to hold office. I hope and expect that the voters will agree in November.”
This whole ordeal in the Middle East is just getting more ridiculous by the moment. Obama’s domestic policy has been so catastrophic, many of us had forgotten just how terrible his foreign policy is. Leading me to wonder, “With catastrophic foreign policy and domestic policy, how can anyone even consider re-electing him?”
