by Ray Newman, radio and television commentator, attorney, educator, author

Friday, January 29, 2010

VIVA LA TRUTH!

In his State of the Union address, President Obama referred to and voiced strong disagreement with a recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned the law that prohibited corporations from contributing to our elections. When the President erroneously said the new ruling would allow foreign corporations to make such contributions, when, in fact, it does not, Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., sitting in the audience with other members of the Court, was seen to mouth the words, "not true".

Both Obama and Alito were said to have acted "inappropriately". Reps said the function of the SOTU address is to state the condition of the country at the time, and that it is outside its purview for the President to make politically-charged statements, as he did frequently in his talk. True enough, but the President's voicing of his opinion of the recent ruling is barely over the edge of appropriateness and I have no major problem with his doing so.

Dems said that Supreme Court justices normally sit silent and stony faced at SOTU addresses and that Alito violated that protocol. Perhaps he did, but viva la violation.

Unlike Representative Joe Wilson who shouted out "you lie" during a Presidentiall speech, Justice Alito did not make an accusation of deceipt. He merely, silently, was expressing the fact that the President had made an error in what he had said, which he had, and that the truth was otherwise. AND THAT THE TRUTH WAS OTHERWISE.

The Dems who criticized Alito for mouthing his opinion are the same Dems who had no compunction to make their approval of the President's speech via frequent applause. So much for equality under the law!

So, here's your choice: meaningless protocol or meaningful truth? What side do you come down on? What better serves our interests? Which pillar better supports our country?

The question, buried by the media in its reporting of this story, is how, for heaven's sake, could the President of the U.S., in a speech heard round the world (and by CEO's of some of those foreign corporations the President spoke about)be so wrong about the court ruling? Who did the research?...who wrote the speech?...and what unemployment line are they now on? And why have I heard not one word from this Administration correcting the error?

In philosophy we say that those who fudge the truth will come to learn that truth avenges itself. Beware, Mr. President. When shining light on the truth is broadly accepted as "inappropriate", we will be plunged into darkness.

Long live the truth!

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