Presidents and Saluting

[Fitz]

Google yourself. I never said he should be prosecuted for the crime of failure to salute. I said that returning a salute is a matter of custom, not a matter of something the president "gets to do." If he doesn't want to, then he should just not do it. But he should not do the stupid, cup-in-hand-while-other-hand-is-empty salute.

How is a civilian to know that an object in the hand while saluting is verboten?

Funny thing about things that people aren't required to do.... they generally don't know anything about the ins and outs of doing it.

[wmenorr67]

How is a civilian to know that an object in the hand while saluting is verboten?

Funny thing about things that people aren't required to do.... they generally don't know anything about the ins and outs of doing it.

Are you asking about the President not knowing about this then I would want a few minutes with his military advisors.  They failed him and us if they failed to drill into him that if he is going to choose to salute the correct way to do so.

[230RN]

Mebbe he should'a bowed.

[Jamisjockey]

Are you asking about the President not knowing about this then I would want a few minutes with his military advisors.  They failed him and us if they failed to drill into him that if he is going to choose to salute the correct way to do so.

This president has already proven he isn't interested in advice from his military advisors.

[KD5NRH]

Are you asking about the President not knowing about this then I would want a few minutes with his military advisors.  They failed him and us if they failed to drill into him that if he is going to choose to salute the correct way to do so.

This; as CinC, he can also ask any other member of the military to help him get it right.  Just like every little cultural gaffe that "he just couldn't have known;" he has the State Department to deal with that, and as I recall, they have a rather large group of people dedicated to educating the President, his family and their staffers on how to behave with whoever they're likely to encounter next.  (In fact, I'd bet with all the other countries that use similar or identical salutes, they could teach him on that as well as the military advisers.)  Just like everything else he screws up more than once; the first time, his advisers are a bit lax in keeping him up on everything and explaining to him why it's important before it becomes an issue.  The second time, either they're incompetent or he just doesn't give a damn.

[Monkeyleg]

I would assume that the same people who should have taught him how to salute also taught him to not address the Queen of England as "Queenie".

[Scout26]

I remember reading a story about when Clinton was elected, that they spent a little/some/a great many hours on getting him to understand military ranks, basic protocol to include saluting and getting it right as there were always cameras whenever AF1 and Marine1 landed and took off.

While he may not have had the crispest parade ground salute, I had to give him an 80-85% most of the time for proper execution.

And while it is low, low, low on Obama Outrage meter, it's simply another example of how he looks down on "the little people" and his disrespect/disregard for the military.

[MechAg94]

President Obama's protocol people have been incompetent from the beginning. 

That said, I do agree that if he is going to salute, he ought to do it right. 

[MechAg94]

GOP make big deals out of things they can't be expected to fix. If there's an issue that they could actually take ACTION on , they ignore it because they're terrible, too.

I don't remember Bush himself trying to pump himself up because he tried to salute.  Others talked about it.  It doesn't mean he is smart or good, just shows a different attitude about the people around them who are not politically important.  I disagree with a lot of what he did, but there are a few things I respect about the guy.  I'd say the same about Bush I and Reagan.

Bush I at least had the sense to put his Presidential library at Texas A&M. 

[lupinus]

How is a civilian to know that an object in the hand while saluting is verboten?

Funny thing about things that people aren't required to do.... they generally don't know anything about the ins and outs of doing it.

As a civilian myself, common sense strikes me as somewhat high on the list of reasons saluting with a cup of coffee might be frowned upon.

[T.O.M.]

I recalled a quote from President Reagan about saluting, so I looked it up:

"And so, I know all the rules about not saluting in civilian clothes and so forth, and when you should or shouldn't. But then when I got this job -- (laughter) -- and I would be approaching Air Force One or Marine One and those Marines would come to a salute and I -- knowing that I am in civilian clothes -- I would nod and say ‘Hello’ and think they could drop their hand, and they wouldn't. They just stood there. So, one night over at the commandant's quarters, Marine Commandant's quarters in Washington, and I was getting a couple of highballs, and I didn't -- (laughter) -- know what to do with them. So, I said to the commandant -- I said, ‘Look, I know all the rules about saluting in civilian clothes and all, but if I am the Commander in Chief, there ought to be a regulation that would permit me to return a salute.’ And I heard some words of wisdom. He said, ‘I think if you did, no one would say anything.’

"So, if you see me on television and I'm saluting, you know that I've got authority for it now -- (laughter) -- and I do it happily."

[Perd Hapley]

How is a civilian to know that an object in the hand while saluting is verboten?

Funny thing about things that people aren't required to do.... they generally don't know anything about the ins and outs of doing it.

Ignorant civilians being expected to know military protocol is the most terrifying crisis we've faced as a nation. Got it.

[KD5NRH]

Ignorant civilians being expected to know military protocol is the most terrifying crisis we've faced as a nation. Got it.

Ignorant, uncaring civilians with a medium sized army of highly (taxpayer) paid staffers whose main purpose is educating the ignorant, you mean.

[TommyGunn]

Ignorant civilians being expected to know military protocol is the most terrifying crisis we've faced as a nation. Got it.

You have an uncanny knack for calling out the disaster-mongers. 
Now if we can only find out why some people are deathly allergic to peanuts, because I sure don't recall anyone being allergic to peanuts in the 1960s when I was a kid ...... .

[Hawkmoon]

There are a bunch of liberal asshats posting pics of Bush saluting while holding a dog, which he shouldn't have done.  It would appear he got caught off guard with the salute and he could've acknowledge with a nod of the head and gone about his way with no harm done.

Yes, in fact he should have returned the salute. Standard protocol if carrying a one-handed burden is to shift the burden to the left hand and salute with the right. That's what Bush did -- and it shows that he went out of his way to return the salute rather than blow it off with a nod.

Obama, on the other hand, was only carrying a coffee cup, and he couldn't be bothered to move it to his other hand and render a (more or less) proper salute. IMHO there is no comparison between the two incidents.

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/09/24/Obama-s-latte-salute-vs-Bush-s-dog-salute

[wmenorr67]

Yes, in fact he should have returned the salute. Standard protocol if carrying a one-handed burden is to shift the burden to the left hand and salute with the right. That's what Bush did -- and it shows that he went out of his way to return the salute rather than blow it off with a nod.

Obama, on the other hand, was only carrying a coffee cup, and he couldn't be bothered to move it to his other hand and render a (more or less) proper salute. IMHO there is no comparison between the two incidents.

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/09/24/Obama-s-latte-salute-vs-Bush-s-dog-salute

Thing is I see the dog as a two-handed burden.

[Fitz]

Yes, in fact he should have returned the salute. Standard protocol if carrying a one-handed burden is to shift the burden to the left hand and salute with the right. That's what Bush did -- and it shows that he went out of his way to return the salute rather than blow it off with a nod.

Obama, on the other hand, was only carrying a coffee cup, and he couldn't be bothered to move it to his other hand and render a (more or less) proper salute. IMHO there is no comparison between the two incidents.

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/09/24/Obama-s-latte-salute-vs-Bush-s-dog-salute

I agree with you on the second point... it's not comparable. In the rules of salute etiquette, Obama's gaffe was more egregious.


I just don't think it's all that worth getting worked up for.

[Perd Hapley]

I just don't think it's all that worth getting worked up for.

People are worked up about it?

[Boomhauer]

People are worked up about it?

The whining on facebook is annoying...

[Fitz]

People are worked up about it?

LOL....

Yes. They are. Not really anyone here. But in general, people are going pants-on-head over it.

[Ben]

Well anyways, it's not like it's the first time he's had "hand issues" in public.

[zxcvbob]

He could have at least spilled the coffee all over himself.   

[Perd Hapley]

LOL....

Yes. They are. Not really anyone here. But in general, people are going pants-on-head over it.

Pants on head. Now that sounds hilarious, so I googloogled it. British, I presume. Thanks for sharing.