# Obama does his best to degrade a couple of Marines. Next episode: Wipers! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 16, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538 "2013-05-16T18:51:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/41 "2013-05-16T19:45:33Z")
“The Marines were allowed to handle the umbrellas Thursday, however, **because the President requested it** ,” Wolf added. It’s called a direct order from your Commander-In-Chief, numb-nuts. Look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/42 "2013-05-16T19:47:35Z")
Uh, yeah. That’s exactly the thing the OP is condemning: that he gave that “degrading” order. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/43 "2013-05-16T19:48:26Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > If Obama had let Erdogan get wet in the rain, the OP and his ilk would have demanded his impeachment for disrespecting an honored guest. . . . Perhaps even rightly so… This reminds me of the whole false-outrage bit where they condemned Obama for saluting/not saluting. When he doesn’t salute the Marine guards, they yelp that he’s showing disrespect. But when he does, they whine he’s violating military regulations. Because the Commander in Chief is or is not an “officer” when it makes it convenient for them to bellyache about it. Falsely contrived “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” dilemmas are logically fraudulent. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/44 "2013-05-16T19:52:16Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Good call. You’ve outed all republicans as being 100% behind this pitting. > > Or are you trying to out do the ops stupidity? We’re in the Pit so exact accuracy is welcome as always but unnecessary. If I want to say “fucking Pitcairn Islanders and their rape scandals,” this is the place to do it, and it doesn’t mean I’m implying everyone on the island is a rapist. Anyone with an IQ above room temperature understands that. I know you’re not too stupid to know which Republicans he’s referring to. But go ahead and pat yourself on the back for thinking you got him in a trap. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/45 "2013-05-16T19:53:05Z")
You wouldn’t see a _real_ president like William Henry Harrison have somebody hold an umbrella over him, no sirree Bob! ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/46 "2013-05-16T19:53:08Z")
It must be so exhausting being outraged all the time. How do you do it? ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/47 "2013-05-16T19:53:57Z")
Ok, I’m not getting it, who should have been holding the umbrellas? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/48 "2013-05-16T19:55:01Z")
This just re-affirms the fact that many folks simply do not see Barack Obama as the leader of this country and therefore do not afford him any dignities that may come with it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/49 "2013-05-16T19:56:01Z")
> [@Alma](#): > > Ok, I’m not getting it, who should have been holding the umbrellas? One of “about 1,000 staffers and interns,” apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/50 "2013-05-16T19:56:42Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > They’re E-4. I stand corrected, couldn’t make out the second stripes. I stand by the rest of my gist, however. May as well add: umbrellas were on hand, honor guard was on hand–most likely the Marines were briefed beforehand regarding the accepted protocols of bumbershoot deployment in anticipation of engagement with precipitation, inclement, several minutes of. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/51 "2013-05-16T20:03:15Z")
Is there a type of precipitation that isn’t inclement? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/52 "2013-05-16T20:06:59Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Ah, of course I’m racist. The only thing that would outrage me more than Obama saying “Can we get some Marines over here?” is “Where the white women at?” I didn’t say _you personally_ were racist, but I do think that one chief reason this completely unremarkable bit of protocol trivia has apparently caught fire in casual media is that many people are consciously or unconsciously upset by seeing a white man doing a menial task for a black man. For instance, compare that minor brief task with a similar happening at the recent opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, where [former President George H. W. Bush actually made a Marine tag around after him to push his wheelchair!](http://www.naplesnews.com/photos/galleries/2013/apr/25/george-w-bush-presidential-center/270766/#section_header) Fuck that arrogant, condescending fucker, right? There are about 1000 staffers and security detail who could have gone out there with him to play nursemaid—it’s not like the Bushes didn’t know well in advance he’d need a wheelchair pusher, unlike the case of an unexpected shower of rain. But they had to go get someone they must consider peon scum to wheel around his chair like a fucking hospital nurse or nanny! Right? Oh wait, no. Nobody seems to have minded at all that a _white_ former Chief Executive had a white uniformed Marine doing a menial task for him. Gee, that discrepancy is really puzzling, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/53 "2013-05-16T20:18:51Z")
This pit thread is stupid. He _hired_ them. In another words, what’s wrong with this if both parties are satisfied. The marines got money to do it. It’s not like he is forcing people to do it for him. Obama haters are getting really butthurt these days. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/54 "2013-05-16T20:18:53Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Is there a type of precipitation that isn’t inclement? Certainly. Precipitation, monetary of divine origin, 1 cent denomination. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/55 "2013-05-16T20:21:13Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > For instance, compare that minor brief task with similar happening at the recent opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, where [former President George H. W. Bush actually made a Marine tag around after him to push his wheelchair!](http://www.naplesnews.com/photos/galleries/2013/apr/25/george-w-bush-presidential-center/270766/#section_header) > > Fuck that arrogant, condescending fucker, right? There are about 1000 staffers and security detail who could have gone out there with him to play nursemaid—it’s not like the Bushes didn’t know well in advance he’d need a wheelchair pusher, unlike the case of an unexpected shower of rain. But they had to go get someone they must consider peon scum to wheel around his chair like a fucking hospital nurse or nanny! > > Right? > > Oh wait, no. Nobody seems to have minded at all that a _white_ former Chief Executive had a white uniformed Marine doing a menial task for him. > > Gee, that discrepancy is really puzzling, isn’t it? Also degrading and shameful, and makes that Marine look just as awkward as they ones holding the umbrellas. The chair should have been pushed by someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/56 "2013-05-16T20:22:38Z")
Why? ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/57 "2013-05-16T20:22:39Z")
I don’t think presidents are allowed to hold umbrella’s anymore after that embarrassing [incident](https://www.google.com/search?q=bush+umbrella&client=firefox-a&hs=HSl&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=tT-VUe7XAqnh0gH1u4HADQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1708&bih=966) involving President Bush. He proved presidents can’t use umbrellas without breaking them. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/58 "2013-05-16T20:23:45Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > This pit thread is stupid. He _hired_ them. In another words, what’s wrong with this if both parties are satisfied. The marines got money to do it. It’s not like he is forcing people to do it for him. > > Obama haters are getting really butthurt these days. When you’ve been a part of something bigger than the school orchestra, come out and play. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/59 "2013-05-16T20:26:30Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > When you’ve been a part of something bigger than the school orchestra, come out and play. How about when you have an actual outrage to scream about you come back with a new thread? Because Kimstu just made you look like a Class 3 Dipshit. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538/60 "2013-05-16T20:26:41Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Also degrading and shameful, and makes that Marine look just as awkward as they ones holding the umbrellas. The chair should have been pushed by someone else. Would you mind posting a link to your Pitting of that fucker Bush for degrading the Marine he obviously views as peon scum? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-does-his-best-to-degrade-a-couple-of-marines-next-episode-wipers/658538.md?page=4)