Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Presidential Christmas Spirit

JOSEPH CURL: At Christmastime, George W. Bush was Santa, Obama is Scrooge - Washington Times:

This was published in 2014 ... but worth a look.

Being Republican means that the MSM will never point out good things you do even if it benefits them personally. The Washington Times is a conservative paper though.
But here’s the thing: In December, we never left Washington, D.C., until the day after Christmas. Never. Mr. Bush and his wife, Laura, would always depart the White House a few days before the holiday and hunker down at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. After a few years, I asked a low-level White House staffer why. 
I still remember what she said: “So all of us can be with our families on Christmas".
The President can leave town when he wants. He can care for "the little guy", or he can "let them eat cake".  People can yammer about "inequality" all they want, but those that live in the real world know that there are always GIGANTIC inequalities that mean far more than money -- lost health, mental and physical, lost loved ones -- sometimes just age, but often accident, disease, addictions, depression ... lost faith, the list would fill pages.

We are ALL "little people" -- though some of us have blessings beyond measure. Last year I was probably sitting in this same spot at some point, but no children were home and I knew that none would be arriving. It was our first empty nest Christmas. We still did good things -- visited my Dad and some family in Barron, church, etc. We were STILL very much blessed -- the kids were alive and healthy, they called and talked with us ... they were just not with us, and that is to be expected some years. But logic is logic and emotion is emotion. It IS, and "it is what it is" ... you accept it and focus on doing as well as you can as it passes like the weather. Good or bad, it always passes.

THIS year, son Garrett, wife Vicki and our precious granddaughter Tula are here and life is grand! Son Keenan arrives on Christmas Day and we will all be up at Barron for a great celebration with that side of the family, with Tula's Baptism and special Christmas with the Bruellman side of the family over the weekend. Our cup runneth over!

Some believe that the government can "fix" inequality by playing a modern Robin Hood with the mighty dollar ... stealing from the rich and giving the poor. I don't, but maybe so -- it's a bad time of the year to argue.  We can just agree to disagree.

It IS however true that a President can decide to hang around Camp David so that the bulk of the  massive staff, security, reporters, pilots, etc can spend Christmas with their families. As the reporter in the article says, those years were priceless -- as I know this year is to me.

Sure, but the cynics will say "that's just a few hundred people at most". Like the guy walking along the beach with hundres of starfish washed up, throwing a few back into the sea being approached by a cynic who says "You can't even help a tiny fraction of all those starfish!, Why bother?". The other man replied "I can help that one." As he threw another back into the sea.

Somehow I like it better than W's thoughtfulness is largely unsung -- he was around politics long enough that he no doubt knew that what he did would not be appreciated at least very publicly, because politics, especially left wing media politics, takes no "time off", and Christmas itself is an affront to much of the other side.

Likewise, Obama knows he can do what he wants and there will be little or no critical coverage .. he is not subject to this kind of thinly veiled disgust about W and "his ranch" ...

But he will make time for fun, or at least his idea of it. Bush rarely takes the type of vacation one would consider exotic -- or, to some, even appealing. His notion of relaxation is chopping cedar on his ranch or mountain biking through rough terrain, all in 100-degree-plus temperatures in dusty Texas where crickets are known to roast on the summer pavement. He seems to relish the idea of exposing aides and reporters to the hothouse environment.
What a bumpkin! Chopping cedar, mountain hiking in sweltering temperatures when he could be coddled in luxury at the Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard, Hawaii or a host of other wonderful destinations. How sad!

That is the world we live in. "The Party" with all it's massive control of the entire government bureaucracy, 90% of the media, entertainment and education works 24x7 to make BO look as good as they possibly can. They worked just as hard for 8 years to make W look bad, but somehow, it doesn't work as well as they believe it HAS TO!

It reminds me of the season -- Herod certainly didn't want to have the King of the Jews arrive, but somehow he still did. As Christians, we know that the battle is won, but here deep in the game, way behind, with the situation looking hopeless, it often doesn't look that way.

But there are always "hints" if you listen and look. The spirit wins out -- it can't be faked or manufactured, but it also can't be hidden, for in truth, all that survives is spirit.

Spirit and Truth ... the only way to KNOW!

'via Blog this'

No comments:

Post a Comment