Another non-controversial Medal of Freedom winner
The week before last, I pointed out the WaPo’s assessment that Barack Obama “hasn’t included any particularly controversial choices in his first picks” for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In light of medals being given to Ted Kennedy and Desmond Tutu, I wasn’t sure if that was the most accurate description.
As it turns out, the Medal winner provoking the most controversy is Mary Robinson, former Irish president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In response to Robinson’s selection, 45 GOP congressmen, including Eric Cantor and Mike Pence, have written a letter to the President asking that he reconsider his choice. (Hat tip: JM)
Why? Robinson has a long record of hostility toward Israel, best represented by her presiding over the 2001 “anti-racism” conference in Durban, South Africa. According to the GOP letter,
“Under [Robinson's] leadership, radical regimes hijacked Durban I and turned it into an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, anti-American hatefest.”
Sounds to me like nothing out of the ordinary for a UN high official. Anyhow, the GOP letter goes on to mention that Obama himself repudiated Durban by refusing to send US representatives to a follow-on conference held this year. If so, why exactly does Obama want to give Ms. Robinson our nation’s highest civilian honor?
Cross-posted at Conventional Folly
4 Responses to “Another non-controversial Medal of Freedom winner”
How can you place a tennis player(King) and a dancer (Rivera) in the same category of Tutu and Kennedy?Maybe because one is a lesbian and the other is a hispanic?
“Sen. Ted Kennedy was also awarded the Medal of Freedom today. Unfortunately, Kennedy himself could not make it because of complications from the brain tumor he is suffering from.
Mary Jo Kopechne did not get a Medal of Freedom and could not be reached for comment.”
hoystory.com
This would have been the ideal time for the President to award the medal to Michael Jackson, not only for his amazing contribution to music & dance but also for his contributions to Humanity. How sad!.
Why would we give the Highest Civilian Medal or award to people that never did a darn thing for us? We might admire them, so give them a “we admire you medal”, but our highest symbolic reward for something irrelevant to the United States? I don't get it.
Instead of Robinson and Tutu, why not Mambo King and Hugh Hefner?