Yesterday, while Jews were celebrating Passover and Christians were preparing for Easter, wealthy liberals on the west side of Los Angeles were busy bowing down to their deity, Barack Obama, who was in town to raise money for his reelection campaign. Obama spent his time in Los Angeles worshiping himself among his followers in Beverly Hills.
For many in Los Angeles, Obama’s visit was a most unholy Thursday.
Obama says he is a Christian, and I believe him. But when he says he cares about the concerns of ordinary people, I do not believe him for one moment.
This is the man who once asked a crowd of Iowa farmers, “Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?” This is the man who disdainfully turned to his primary opponent and said, “You’re likable enough, Hillary.” This is the man who came to Los Angeles on one of the holiest days of the year for Christians and shut down the entire city during rush hour. This was done so he could attend fundraisers from wealthy donors for an election that is over 18 months away.
Legally he has every right to raise money. Morally he continues to show a lack of understanding of the people that “cling to their guns and religion.”
Admittedly, my anger is selfish. The president’s visit — which caused all of the streets in my area to get blocked off — turned my lunch trip into an hour-long fiasco and turned what should have been a two-hour drive to an appointment into a four-hour drive.
Yet others have more important reasons to be frustrated. Christians were unable to attend Holy Thursday services at their churches. People trying to pay homage to God had to take a back seat because one man needed to pay homage to himself.
Those claiming that “his predecessor” pulled stunts like this would be bearing false witness. Obama loves to claim that everything he does is historic and unprecedented. Well, his arrogance is precisely that.
As for the billionaire sycophants supporting him, they are just as culpable. These are the people John Kerry referred to as the “heart and soul of America.”
Wrong. The people who make $20 million for appearing on a screen are not the heart and soul of America. The people who worked hard all day and wanted to get to church and work on improving themselves are the heart and soul of America.
If Hollywood liberals want to stop being portrayed as self-indulgent spoiled brats, they should use better judgment when deciding when, where, and how to spend their money.
If Obama wants to be seen as somebody who cares even the slightest about ordinary people, he should not leave them stranded in traffic. While he was raising millions of dollars for himself, workers had their cars idling. With gasoline at $4.20 a gallon in Los Angeles, every drop wasted adds to people’s financial hardships. (Idling is also bad for the environment, but Obama’s motorcade and the resulting standstill are exempt from environmental scrutiny.)
Late Thursday night, a drive home led to more panic as Obama settled in at a hotel three blocks away from my house. Well past midnight, there was a chance my very street would be blocked off. A man’s home is his castle, and my own bed could have been off limits.
It took longer than expected, but while Obama rested on the most expensive sheets in existence, the ordinary fellow three blocks away reached his own simple mattress.
As Holy Thursday turned to Good Friday, well wishes are again sent to the Jews and Christians celebrating their beautiful traditions. This Passover and Easter weekend, Obama may wish to consider lowering himself in his own mind to the level of mere mortal.
Obama needs to learn humility. He needs to be more sensitive to those around him, even if they do not earn seven figures and trade carbon offsets. He needs to understand that for the great unwashed masses, the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness comes in the form of a religious service.
His actions were selfish, classless and, sadly, typical.
I still wish the man a peaceful Easter, but his attitude toward his fellow men led to a most unholy Thursday.
The next time he speaks about “change,” he should look inside himself when attending his church.
Unlike many in Los Angeles during his visit, at least he will be able to attend.
Eric Golub is a Brooklyn-born stockbrokerage and oil professional living in the People’s Republic of Los Angeles. His blog is the TYGRRRR EXPRESS and his three books are “Ideological Bigotry,” “Ideological Violence,” and “Ideological Idiocy.” His interests include politics, football, the stock market, and Republican Jewish brunettes.
