Kuhner says Obama's "ass" comment amounts to "street-gangster language"

When Matt Drudge characterized President Obama saying the word "ass" during a recent interview as him going "street," a few in the media -- including Fox News' Juan Williams -- noted that Drudge's language was racially-tinged. Well, Jeffrey Kuhner took it one step further in his Washington Times column, calling Obama's comment "street-gangster language more befitting a community organizer in the South Side of Chicago." From the June 10 column:

President Obama has degraded the office of the presidency - once again. Coming under increasing criticism for his inept handling of the BP oil spill, Mr. Obama is resorting to being vulgar in the hope of appearing tough to the American public.

In a recent interview on NBC's "Today Show," Mr. Obama responded to critics who charge that his reaction to the spill should be more engaged and forceful.

"I was down there a month ago, before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the Gulf," the president said. "And I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar; we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."

Really? Mr. Obama should be ashamed of himself. Presidents historically have used salty, even profane language in private discussions - Andrew Jackson, Harry Truman and Richard Nixon being the most notable. Yet in public statements, they understood the need to represent the dignity and decorum of the Oval Office. Every president has - until Mr. Obama.

The presidency is not just the highest office in the land; it embodies the collective will of America's democracy. Mr. Obama occupies a sacred and noble position entrusted by the American people. His comments convey utter contempt for the office he occupies. This is street-gangster language more befitting a community organizer in the South Side of Chicago than the leader of the Free World. It is political posturing masquerading as decisive leadership.

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Mr. Obama's seminal flaw is that he lacks any executive experience. He is unable to govern effectively because he has never had to do so. He has never run a business, a town or a state. In fact, he has never run a lemonade stand. His entire adult life has been spent in the bureaucratic class - as a community organizer, radical professor or politician. He has been part of the nonproductive segments of society, the parasitical elements living off the wealth of the private sector.