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Obama sends former officials to Thatcher funeral

j-mac said:
This is unbelievable....Not one current official to send to Margret Thatcher's funeral? I mean come on! How many times can Obama snub England? Or any of our other traditional allies for that matter?

For comparison consider, I believe that when Reagan died, England was represented by the current, as well as the former PM at the time, the Queen herself, and other dignitaries....We can't spare one current administration official?

BTW, I know that the partisan progressives will instantly say that Bush isn't going either, being as that is the go to excuse for them, and personally I don't think that is right either...Bush should go.
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Almost no leaders are going to attend the funeral. And to be honest, why would they for a woman who stopped serving as a PM in 1990, 23 years or so ago.

Even in her own country she is equally loved and hated. Her policies have (as some called it) blighted the UK with abject poverty and serious social problems due to high unemployment and the downfall of industrial Britain.

So for a world leader from way back when, why should a more senior group of dignitaries go? Reagan was president of the US during the cold war and leader of his country. While the PM is a high function in the UK, the Queen is officially the leader of the UK, not the PM.

Now if Queen Elizabeth the second dies more senior people from the US will go because she is the leader of her country, for a PM from 23 years ago, the people that are going are more than adequate.

And Obama has more pressing issues than going to memorial services in the UK (making the cost of the funeral go up even more).
 
notquiteright said:
Just an observation- seems President Obama has not made one major correct step in your book.
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You say this having been around here for less than 1/4 of his tenure in office.
 
The Man said:
No, I don't expect the world to snub it, just as the world didn't snub Thatcher's funeral.
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You're right, the world certainly has not snubbed Mrs Thatcher's funeral. Just the United States.
 
Peter King said:
Almost no leaders are going to attend the funeral. And to be honest, why would they for a woman who stopped serving as a PM in 1990, 23 years or so ago.
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At least eleven sitting prime ministers are attending.

Peter King said:
Even in her own country she is equally loved and hated. Her policies have (as some called it) blighted the UK with abject poverty and serious social problems due to high unemployment and the downfall of industrial Britain.
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Even Alex Salmond is rousing himself to attend.

Peter King said:
So for a world leader from way back when, why should a more senior group of dignitaries go? Reagan was president of the US during the cold war and leader of his country. While the PM is a high function in the UK, the Queen is officially the leader of the UK, not the PM.
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Yeah, that explains why no one of note attended Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965!
 
wbcoleman said:
You're right, the world certainly has not snubbed Mrs Thatcher's funeral. Just the United States.
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How has the US snubbed it? You mean because someone decided to bomb the Boston Marathon and that news took precedence over a dead old lady's funeral? Is that a snub?
 
The Man said:
How has the US snubbed it? You mean because someone decided to bomb the Boston Marathon and that news took precedence over a dead old lady's funeral? Is that a snub?
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Are you saying that the decision not to attend was made yesterday afternoon???
 
wbcoleman said:
Are you saying that the decision not to attend was made yesterday afternoon???
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The decision for who not to attend? If you mean Obama, or even GW Bush, why would they attend??? It would make no sense, unless they personally knew her.
 
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wbcoleman said:
At least eleven sitting prime ministers are attending.
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Out of what, a 170 countries? Most commonwealth countries (former UK colonies) will not send a PM.

wbcoleman said:
Even Alex Salmond is rousing himself to attend.
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Yeah, because Thatchers blunders and unpopular politics helped Salmond get more Scottish independence. Also, he is a PM in the UK.

wbcoleman said:
Yeah, that explains why no one of note attended Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965!
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He got a state funeral, a lot of people will have attended. And he was a wartime hero, Thatcher was not.
 
Peter King said:
Out of what, a 170 countries? Most commonwealth countries (former UK colonies) will not send a PM.
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But they'll be sending their top representatives, right?

Yeah, because Thatchers blunders and unpopular politics helped Salmond get more Scottish independence. Also, he is a PM in the UK.
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And yet she served for all those years. Remarkable for one so unpopular.

He got a state funeral, a lot of people will have attended. And he was a wartime hero, Thatcher was not.
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The win in the Falklands certainly energized the British people.
 
my hope is that Obama will have a very public golf outing in the USA about the same time as the UK funeral ceremonies. with any luck, labor leaders will accompany him on the links

and all this whining from the reich wing. that dick cheney is attending; throw in netanyahu, too. the dark side WILL be represented. as it should be
 
Jack Hays said:
Even lying in her casket Thatcher would be taller than BHO. That's what he wants to avoid. Good evening, CJ.:2wave:
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Belated good evening and good morning 2M - sorry I missed you last evening - have fun today.
 
Peter King said:
Out of what, a 170 countries? Most commonwealth countries (former UK colonies) will not send a PM.
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It's not a state funeral - it's invite only. We didn't send invites to all the worlds leaders..

Peter King said:
Yeah, because Thatchers blunders and unpopular politics helped Salmond get more Scottish independence. Also, he is a PM in the UK.
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Salmond is "First Minister" also an MSP. She may have blundered for you but she turned our country around.

Peter King said:
He got a state funeral, a lot of people will have attended. And he was a wartime hero, Thatcher was not.
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The plans have been made for years as they always are. We don't do state funerals that often but she is getting similar treatment to Lady Di and the Queen Mother. That's pretty special - except for the haters.

justabubba said:
my hope is that Obama will have a very public golf outing in the USA about the same time as the UK funeral ceremonies. with any luck, labor leaders will accompany him on the links --
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Where your labour leaders all members of the KGB too? The ones who protested loudest here were.
 
straykatz said:
If he went then there would be outrage that he was off to Europe while our country was in crisis.....it's a no win situation with this president and no matter what there are always those willing to find fault in everything he does or doesn't do.
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Quoted for truth.
 
polgara said:
Good evening,CJ. :2wave:

I glad that Canada understands good manners! This is not an ordinary funeral, but one honoring the longest serving Prime Minister in England's history! BHO could have gone long enough for that! The Boston problem could have been handled by Biden for a day or two! Sad....
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I disagree.

As an American citizen, I would rather the President deal with American concerns rather than go to a funeral on foreign soil.
 
Zyphlin said:
I'm curious what those who make such a big deal out of Romney "Snubbing" england at the Olympics make of this
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Obama isn't worthy to attend.

j/k
 
Objective Voice said:
I can see how some folks would see Pres. Obama not attending the former British Prime Minister's funeral as a snub. After all, Toni Blair attended Reagan's funeral and he wasn't Prime Minister during the Reagan era. But as has already been pointed out, Pres. Obama has a lot on his plate these days especially in the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. Do you really want your nation's leader attending a funeral while your country is investigating a domestic terror attack?

I didn't think so.

Find something else to complain about, folks. This ain't it.
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This decision was made by the administration BEFORE the Boston situation. And exactly why is it that Obama couldn't go even in the aftermath of this attack? I mean, he went to sleep during Benghazi after all, he clearly doesn't give a crap about terror attacks, or American's killed by terrorists.
 
justabubba said:
my hope is that Obama will have a very public golf outing in the USA about the same time as the UK funeral ceremonies. with any luck, labor leaders will accompany him on the links

and all this whining from the reich wing. that dick cheney is attending; throw in netanyahu, too. the dark side WILL be represented. as it should be
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All that hate you harbor is going to eat you up man....Hopefully you don't believe in Karma.
 
polgara;1061700433[B said:
]She apparently was both understood and respected by the people of Britain[/B], since she was the longest serving Prime Minister in English history. Her name in history is second only to Churchil, and they both earned their place in history! :2bow:
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Not so.

As I understand it, Thatcher did some very serious damage to the manufacturing base in the UK in order to make London the financial center of Europe. There were a lot of workers who lost their jobs because of this economic shift. And it's currently causing the UK a lot of problems since they no longer have the manufacturing base that is now leaving China and going back to more developed countries for more advanced types of manufacturing, such as the US.

This is why there were people in the UK who drank a bottle of champagne at news of her death.

So it would be more accurate to say that Margaret Thatcher was respected by the people of Britain - except for those who didn't. And most of those lost their jobs because of her policies, and her policies have come back to bite the UK.
 
Considering Michelle "batcrazy" Bachmann, and Newt "the hypocrit" Gingrich were there.. then I think it was wise that basically no world leaders were present... Talk about stinking up the place... frankly a disgrace and insult to the memory of Maggie Thatcher
 
samsmart said:
Not so.

As I understand it, Thatcher did some very serious damage to the manufacturing base in the UK in order to make London the financial center of Europe. There were a lot of workers who lost their jobs because of this economic shift. And it's currently causing the UK a lot of problems since they no longer have the manufacturing base that is now leaving China and going back to more developed countries for more advanced types of manufacturing, such as the US.

This is why there were people in the UK who drank a bottle of champagne at news of her death.

So it would be more accurate to say that Margaret Thatcher was respected by the people of Britain - except for those who didn't. And most of those lost their jobs because of her policies, and her policies have come back to bite the UK.
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I'll let this piece speak for me....

"A few hours after Margaret Thatcher's death on Monday, the snarling deadbeats of the British underclass were gleefully rampaging through the streets of Brixton in South London, scaling the marquee of the local fleapit and hanging a banner announcing, "THE BITCH IS DEAD."
Amazingly, they managed to spell all four words correctly. By Friday, "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead", from The Wizard of Oz, was the Number One download at Amazon UK.
Mrs. Thatcher would have enjoyed all this. Her former speechwriter John O'Sullivan recalls how, some years after leaving office, she arrived to address a small group at an English seaside resort to be greeted by enraged lefties chanting "Thatcher Thatcher Thatcher! Fascist Fascist Fascist!" She turned to her aide and cooed, "Oh, doesn't it make you feel nostalgic?"
She was said to be delighted to hear that a concession stand at last year's Trades Union Congress was doing a brisk business in "Thatcher Death Party Packs", almost a quarter-century after her departure from office.
Of course, it would have been asking too much of Britain's torpid left to rouse themselves to do anything more than sing a few songs and smash a few windows. In The Wizard of Oz, the witch is struck down at the height of her powers by Dorothy's shack descending from Kansas to relieve the Munchkins of their torments.
By comparison, Britain's Moochkins were unable to bring the house down: Mrs Thatcher died in her bed at the Ritz at a grand old age. Useless as they are, British Socialists were at one point capable of writing their own anti-Thatcher singalongs rather than lazily appropriating Judy Garland blockbusters from MGM's back catalogue. I recall in the late Eighties being at the National Theatre in London and watching the crowd go wild over Adrian Mitchell's showstopper, "F**k-Off Friday", a song about union workers getting their redundancy notices at the end of the week, culminating with the lines:
"I can't wait for
That great day when
F**k-Off Friday
Comes to Number Ten."


Read More At Investor's Business Daily: Thatcher, Greatest Woman Leader Since Catherine the Great, Saved Her Country - Investors.com
Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
 
digsbe said:
It's not an insult. I just think griping about not having a rep of the US government there isn't a major issue. Personally, if a president of the US died and the UK didn't send anyone to the funeral I wouldn't be too offended, especially if the UK just suffered a domestic attack.
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Don't forget that he's trying to pass a budget deal with the GOP-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate. Chances are he didn't arrange to go because of that reason. There's just too many domestic issues for him to deal with right now.
 
j-mac said:
I'll let this piece speak for me....

"A few hours after Margaret Thatcher's death on Monday, the snarling deadbeats of the British underclass were gleefully rampaging through the streets of Brixton in South London, scaling the marquee of the local fleapit and hanging a banner announcing, "THE BITCH IS DEAD."
Amazingly, they managed to spell all four words correctly. By Friday, "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead", from The Wizard of Oz, was the Number One download at Amazon UK.
Mrs. Thatcher would have enjoyed all this. Her former speechwriter John O'Sullivan recalls how, some years after leaving office, she arrived to address a small group at an English seaside resort to be greeted by enraged lefties chanting "Thatcher Thatcher Thatcher! Fascist Fascist Fascist!" She turned to her aide and cooed, "Oh, doesn't it make you feel nostalgic?"
She was said to be delighted to hear that a concession stand at last year's Trades Union Congress was doing a brisk business in "Thatcher Death Party Packs", almost a quarter-century after her departure from office.
Of course, it would have been asking too much of Britain's torpid left to rouse themselves to do anything more than sing a few songs and smash a few windows. In The Wizard of Oz, the witch is struck down at the height of her powers by Dorothy's shack descending from Kansas to relieve the Munchkins of their torments.
By comparison, Britain's Moochkins were unable to bring the house down: Mrs Thatcher died in her bed at the Ritz at a grand old age. Useless as they are, British Socialists were at one point capable of writing their own anti-Thatcher singalongs rather than lazily appropriating Judy Garland blockbusters from MGM's back catalogue. I recall in the late Eighties being at the National Theatre in London and watching the crowd go wild over Adrian Mitchell's showstopper, "F**k-Off Friday", a song about union workers getting their redundancy notices at the end of the week, culminating with the lines:
"I can't wait for
That great day when
F**k-Off Friday
Comes to Number Ten."


Read More At Investor's Business Daily: Thatcher, Greatest Woman Leader Since Catherine the Great, Saved Her Country - Investors.com
Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
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Indeed.

So she wasn't as universally respected or loved by the people of the United Kingdom as it seems. And perhaps with good reason.
 
samsmart said:
Indeed.

So she wasn't as universally respected or loved by the people of the United Kingdom as it seems. And perhaps with good reason.
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Or maybe it's because she bucked the labor union push toward the morass of quasi socialist push toward mediocrity. No leader is everything to everyone, but is it too much to ask that they at least lead? She did.
 
wbcoleman said:
I think that every last person who is calling it "a non-issue" identifies himself or herself as "liberal" or "progressive".
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Oh, well that identifies you as somebody that has no idea what "liberal" or "progressive" actually means.
 
roughdraft274 said:
Oh, well that identifies you as somebody that has no idea what "liberal" or "progressive" actually means.
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Yes, because hitting the nail on the head, regardless of the cowardly lean posted by some who are deep down ashamed of admitting their true lean is call for most Alenski-ites to claim not that they are outed, but rather that one 'just doesn't understand'.....What a crock.
 
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