Limbaugh Conjures Up Dishonest Smear Over How Obama Honored 9-11 Anniversary
Written by Jeremy Holden
Published
Rush Limbaugh criticized President Obama for volunteering at a soup kitchen as part of a national day of service to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- falsely suggesting that Obama did so instead of attending memorial services. In fact, Obama and his family honored the day of service at a soup kitchen Saturday, and the president attended several memorial services on Sunday.
Limbaugh: Obama Went To A Soup Kitchen On 9-11 Rather Than Memorials
Limbaugh: George W. Bush Went To 9-11 Memorial While Obama “Went To A Soup Kitchen.” Syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh sought to contrast President George W. Bush attending memorials commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with President Obama, who Limbaugh said, “went to a soup kitchen.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/12/11, via Media Matters for America]
Limbaugh: Obama “Shows Up At A Soup Kitchen On 9-11 To Honor What?” Returning to the subject later in his show, Limbaugh said:
The President of the United States on 9-11 -- the president who wrecked our economy -- shows up at a soup kitchen on 9-11 to honor what? What do you honor? What does a soup kitchen have to do with 9-11? What are you honoring, that our country has no jobs?
A soup kitchen. All for the purposes of spreading his notion of what we should be doing on 9-11: a day of service. President Obama and his family volunteered at a soup kitchen to help underscore his call to a national service that he's emphasized as a way to commemorate the terrorist attacks of 9-11. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/12/11, via Media Matters for America]
In Fact, Obama Attended 9-11 Memorials To Commemorate The Attacks
AP: Obama “Honored The Legacy Of Sept. 11 Victims Sunday By Personally Tracing The Trail Of The Terrorist Attacks.” As the Associated Press reported, President Obama attended memorial events in New York City, in Shanksville, Pa., at the Pentagon, and in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011:
Ten years after the nation was unified in horror, President Barack Obama honored the legacy of Sept. 11 victims on Sunday by personally tracing the trail of the terrorist attacks, proudly declaring that the decade since has proven “America does not give in to fear.”
At ground zero, Obama stood in solidarity with President George W. Bush right where hijacked airliners smashed into the twin World Trade Center towers in 2001. He touched the names of those etched into a bronze memorial amid the rush of its striking waterfalls.
In a field in western Pennsylvania, Obama strolled along a marbled Wall of Names that stands in tribute to the 40 people who crashed in Shanksville after fighting back against the terrorists. Obama seemed to shake the hand of every person he could reach.
In the rebuilt Pentagon just outside the nation's capital, the symbol of U.S. military might attacked by terrorists that day, Obama placed a wreath at a memorial where each of 184 victims is remembered. A brass quartet played a soulful rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
And finally, back in Washington, after a day he chose to mark mainly by quiet presence, the president spoke of the pride of a nation. [Associated Press, 9/12/11, via Nexis]
President Obama Volunteered At A Soup Kitchen On Saturday, Sept. 10 -- Not “On 9-11”
AP: “A Day Before The Anniversary Commemorations ... Obama Also Visited A Soup Kitchen.” An Associated Press article published Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, reported:
Summoning the nation to unity and service, President Barack Obama paid tribute to America's resilience and the sacrifice of its war dead Saturday as the country prepared to mark 10 long years since the horrors of 9/11.
A day before the anniversary commemorations, the president made a pilgrimage to Arlington National Cemetery, strolling with his wife, Michelle, among graves filled with dead from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. And he invoked the common purpose that arose from carnage a decade ago in telling Americans that the nation cannot be broken by terrorism “no matter what comes our way.”
Obama also visited a soup kitchen, where he and his family helped prepare trays of gumbo for the needy in the nation's capital, underscoring the call to national service that rang so loudly after the terrorist attacks. [Associated Press, 9/10/11, via Nexis]