He was also a staunch conservative Republican, but after then-Vice President Richard Nixon lost to John F. Kennedy in the closely-fought 1960 presidential election, John Wayne made the following statement referring to Kennedy:
"I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job."
It is sad to see what the Republican party has become in the three decades after Hollywood's legendary Duke died. Instead of putting partisan differences aside, leading Republican figures have cheered for the failure of Barack Obama's presidency.
A whole range of GOP and GOP-supporting voices, most notably Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Matt Drudge, reacted with glee when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
On his radio talk show, Limbaugh crowed, "The ego has landed," while Beck proclaimed the defeat as "sweet." Drudge, on his blog, echoed Limbaugh's comment in a banner headline.
Whatever became of the "country first" mantra that they and other Republicans repeated over and over again while John McCain campaigned for president? Whatever became of the old sentiment that partisanship stopped at the shorelines while the president was conducting foreign policy or otherwise promoting American interests overseas?
That sure has been missing from the sentiments echoed by these right-wingers and the other peddlers of their propaganda.
Can they please explain their glee to thousands of folks who could have had Olympics-generated jobs doing things like constructing the various Games sites that would have to be built in the years leading up to 2016? Can they also explain their glee to those in Chicago and beyond who would have benefitted tremendously from the Games being in the United States?
If they really believe Chicago's loss was a big defeat for President Obama, they are dead wrong. Many following the competition understood that Chicago faced an uphill climb against a city on a continent that never hosted an Olympics (while the United States has hosted both summer and winter Games through much of the 20th century).
For all the benefit the Games would have generated for Chicago, the state of Illinois, and the United States, Obama was right to help out in pitching the city. Although the bid was not successful, Obama's presentation (and that of Chicago) was both powerful and poignant.
Had he not come, I suspect these same right-wingers who are crowing about Chicago's loss would have barked the loudest about Obama betraying his home town and letting the rest of the Chicago delegation carry the water while he stayed home.
To these right-wingers, this wasn't about winning or losing. This was about their personal hatred of the President of the United States who was freely elected and who doesn't cower to their every command.
This was about their refusal to accept the fact that Barack Obama was elected fair and square by a clear majority of Americans last November.
And this is also about their demonstrated jealousy and resentment toward a moderately progressive president who also happens to be well-educated and intelligent as well as a successful author of two books ("Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope.")
When he came back from Copenhagen after Chicago's loss, Obama was gracious in defeat and congratulated Rio de Janiero for its accomplishment. He showed far more manhood in that brief moment then these right-wing crybabies have demonstrated in their lifetimes.
Obama will continue to do well in his presidency and beyond, but what about these right-wingers and the Republican party that looks up to these folks? If Republicans continue to embrace those who celebrated Chicago's loss and continue to root for Obama's failure, they will corner themselves even more in the fringes of American politics.
John Wayne at least had the sense to understand that one he didn't agree with was elected and that his success was in our nation's best interest. The same can't be said about the clowns who are currently the most prominent Republican party spokesmen and propagandists. The quicker the GOP disassociates itself from the Becks, Limbaughs and Drudges of the world, the better it will eventually be.
