Glenn Beck Apologizes for Mimicking Malia Obama

Yesterday during his morning radio program Glenn Beck was commenting on the news conference that President Barack Obama conducted about the oil spill in the Gulf Coast. In the news conference President Obama stated that his oldest daughter, Malia had asked him about the oil spill. He claimed Malia asked, "Daddy, Daddy? Daddy, did you plug the hole yet?" I listened to the Rush Limbaugh program on radio yesterday and he was mentioning about that very incident. I had wondered when Limbaugh brought up the subject did Malia really ask her father that question or did President Obama make that statement to achieve some type of response from saying that. Whether or not Malia Obama asked her father that question I don't know. You wouldn't think that a child that's 12 years old would necessarily think to ask such a question as that. However, I'll give her the benefit of a doubt.

Glenn Beck on his radio show was mocking Malia Obama. He pretended he was Malia asking the question and his co-host, Pat Gray, was pretending to be President Obama responding to the question. Beck imitated Malia and asked did he plug the hole in yet. Pat Gray responded as President Obama, "Not yet, there hasn't been enough damage done yet." Also, Beck brought up the issue of race and, imitating Malia, asked why the President hates white people. Later on in the day following the program, Beck issued an apology stating that he broke his own rule in bringing the children of elected officials into the equation. Here's the statement Beck made when he made his apology: "The children of public figures should be left on the sidelines. It was a stupid mistake and I apologize, and as a dad I should have known better."

Glenn Beck was being too silly for his own good. I totally agree that when criticizing elected officials, you shouldn't bring their children into the conversation. You shouldn't be mocking them or placing the media spotlight on them. Both Malia and Sasha Obama aren't responsible for the choices their father makes. I'm very opposed to President Obama's socialist policies. However, I don't use that as an opportunity to mock President Obama's daughters or even his wife. The only way that I would ever criticize his wife would be if she made some very foolish statement that deserved criticism. Not only shouldn't we blame the president's children for his statements or actions, we shouldn't blame the president's wife either. I recall during President Obama's campaign in 2008 it was purported that First Lady Michelle Obama had made a statement claiming that for the first time in her life she was proud to be an American. It gave the impression she wasn't proud to be an American until President Obama ran for president. However, I haven't heard her say anything since that would give me a reason to criticize her. The point is, when I criticize the president, I'm criticizing him only--not his wife or his children.

Glenn Beck needs to be cautious what he says when he's joking. He doesn't need unnecessary criticism. He's already been criticized for standing up to the truth. Don't give the mainstream media a legitimate reason to criticize you. I was reading in an article that the Fox news executives heard the dialogue and weren't pleased with it. I believe in freedom of speech. I support it one hundred percent. However, you must handle that freedom cautiously. Speech can be damaging when it's abused. The presidents children or any elected officials' children don't need the spotlight on them. The children of these elected officials didn't have any choice in their mother or father running for office. The spouses or children of elected officials don't deserve unnecessary scrutiny.

I can recall when George W. Bush was president. I was very displeased at the direction he was taking our country. However, I centered my criticism toward him and other elected officials that were at fault. I didn't criticize his wife Laura Bush or his daughters, Jenna and Barbara. They weren't the ones making the policies. There's an old saying that former president Harry Truman said and that was "The buck stops here." It stops on his desk. It doesn't get passed to his family. We need to be very cautious in whom we assign blame to. We only assign blame to those that are at fault--nobody else. We shouldn't in any way mock or poke fun at their immediate family. We shouldn't hold an elected official's family accountable when his/her family aren't responsible for the policies that are made.