Crush Liberalism

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1. Nice ellipses. By truncating the sentence, the context is removed. Obama is clearly referring to the Fourteenth Amendment.

   Obama: We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we’re all created equal; that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else.

   Comment by Zachriel | January 29, 2010

2. Zach,

   I wasn’t Dowdifying the quote like MoDo does at the NYT. I put in the ellipses to indicate there was more to the quote, and simply stopped where the semicolon is. You see, I even have a link to the original story, where the readers are encouraged to check it out for themselves. That’s more than Maureen Dowd does at the NYT, where her deception has spawned the term “Dowdify”, meaning to selectively doctor a quote so as to convey context of the actual meaning.

   But I digress.

   I’m assuming you had a point, and were I a betting man, I would venture that your point is that by looking at the context of B.O.’s statement, we will THEN see where he was referencing something…nay, anything in the Constitution. If that is indeed your point, then you failed.

   You see, nothing in the Constitution says or implies that we’re “created” equal. As I mentioned, that “notion” is in the Declaration of Independence. Oh sure, they’re both fine documents and of monumental importance, but let’s not confuse the two like B.O. did, shall we?

   The 14th Amendment says that we all have equal protection under the law, and that is obviously NOT what he was talking about. Additionally, the extra wording you quoted makes him look even more foolish. Clearly, “equal protection” must apply to all of us regardless of whether one complies with the law. Our Constitutional protections are not granted only “if you abide by the law”. They’re inherent and unconditional.

   And while we’re at it, ponder this: If B.O. really believed what he said, then why is he trying terrorists who do not “adhere to our common values” and do not “abide by the law” in our criminal courts with these same Constitutional guarantees?

   Comment by crushliberalism | January 29, 2010

3. Jon: in fairness, I must point out that Zach has reproduced the quote more accurately. Allow me to illustrate:

   Yours: We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution, the notion that we’re all created equal

   Zachs: We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we’re all created equal

   I have verified with the official text that the colon, rather than the comma, was utilized. So, I would like to thank Zach for effectively pointing to the very punctuation which refutes his own notion.

   Way to go there, champ.

   Comment by TheBad | January 29, 2010

4. Thanks for the clarification, TB! Let it never be said that mistakes don’t get corrected here!

   Comment by crushliberalism | January 30, 2010

5. You know this “constitutional law scholar” excuse has been floating around for some time now and I’d like to see his transcripts to verify his scholarly credibility.

   Comment by tnjack | January 31, 2010

6. [...] can recite the Muslim call to prayer perfectly yet confuses words from the Declaration of Independence with the Constitution during a news [...]

   Pingback by OBAMA … UNFIT FOR THE OVAL OFFICE & THE PRESIDENCY FROM THE BEGINNING | Hillary and Me | March 17, 2010

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