My reply is a bit long because I want to cover a lot of points, and it is hard to deal with these issues in sound bites, plus when I am finished I will move on. I am sorry to do this to you because I have nothing but love for you, so here goes. My aim is to challenge the narratives that you, and so many others just seem to buy into. I also aim to stir your thought processes in a manner that you are not accustomed to having them done, so read on if you care. First off, when I say that people opposed former President Obama’s policies, I was talking about the major movements that rose up during his Presidency. The Tea Party, the many town halls that protested Obama care, institutions like the Heritage Foundation, CPAC etc., and of course the Republicans in Congress and the Senate. As a whole, Mr. Obama was opposed on policy, and if/when people stepped out of line they were quickly chastised for their actions by the media, all of the left wing institutions, and even the people on the right, and they often had to apologize. As I said conservatives are held to a higher standard, and by and large they behave in a manner that reflects an awareness of that. There will always be people who go outside of the mainstream to attack people personally.  Trolls are everywhere.

ALL Presidents are personally attacked on some level. Every one of them! It was a rite of passage for leftists to call Former President Bush a bumbling idiot every single day. Not a day went by without that narrative being played in the New York Times, with late night comedians, news commentators, and Saturday Night live. That was the norm and it never stopped. He was called a monkey, Nazi, evil and other names. In this video CNN anchor, Soledad Obrien is laughing as she describes President Bush as “the monkey in the middle.” Remember, this is a CNN anchor. This is just to remind you that Presidents get treated unfairly. Mr. Obama though, for the most part was treated like a God, and did not get this kind of treatment from the mainstream media or other mainstream organizations. Every criticism of him was attributed to race, and they rode “the race horse” to the bitter end.

On the other points that your raised, Congressman Lamborn did not call President Obama a “tar baby” as a racial epithet. It was all in the context of not wanting to cooperate with him on the debt ceiling, and he used the analogy to illustrate getting stuck with the issue. In a politically correct society, and given the history of the term; he should have known better, but guess what, after a public outcry (which clearly demonstrates my point) he apologized. By the way President Bush’s spokesman had also used the term to mean getting stuck, when he said in reference to a question “I don’t want to hug that tar baby” meaning it’s a sticky situation”. Governor Romney also used the term to describe the “big dig highway project in Boston.” You may still disagree, but context is important. On Newt Gingrich saying that President Obama engaged in “Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior,” so what? It’s an opinion based on an interpretation of Mr. Obamas worldview, his writings and Mr. Obama’s father’s history as a rabid anti-colonial dissenter. What’s disrespectful about that? You could call it stupid, crazy, kooky or whatever, but there is nothing disrespectful about it. On the New Yorker depicting Michelle Obama as a gun toting militant and Barack Obama dressed in Muslim attire. According to the New Yorker’s explanation, the cartoon was meant to “satirize the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail Barack Obama’s campaign,” but many people did not interpret it that way, and of course they were called out for it. So even if you do not buy that explanation that they gave, and you think it was disrespectful, it is just one example out of years of favorable coverage of the President who could do no wrong. In addition This whole Muslim/Kenya thing has been around since Mr. Obama was a Senator. Remember when the Clinton campaign released a photo of Mr. Obama in Muslim Garb and his campaign manager said the following: “On the very day that Sen. Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election.” In addition do not forget that in 2008 Philip J. Berga a former Democratic deputy attorney general, former member of the Democratic State Committee of Pennsylvania and life member of the NAACP tried to sue President Obama to stop him from running for President because he believed Mr. Obama was not a citizen of the United States.

About disrespecting the first lady. Mrs. Obama had her detractors, and on occasion it got personal (like it has for all first ladies, she was not immuned because she is a black woman), but she was lauded and celebrated as the first lady. She was praised as a fashion icon, and her initiatives on healthy eating was applauded everywhere, she was all over the talk show circuit, she was beloved by the media and Hollywood. No, no, Michelle Obama was treasured by the mainstream institutions of our culture.

There is not enough space to address the Netanyahu issue or I’d be writing a book, but I invite you to go read about the Iran nuclear agreement, the disagreements they were having on the response to terrorism, the Palestinian/Israel conflict and a lot of other issues on terrorism and see what lead up to it (do not just read the Huffington Post, read all angles). If you think that is comparable to anything that is happening now then we just have to disagree.

On the difference in treatment of Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump. The country was euphoric when Barrack Obama was elected, there was rejoicing around the world at the election of the first black President of the United States. He was never held to the same standard as candidates and Presidents before him. When he said “if they bring a knife you bring a gun,” and he told his followers to “get in the faces” of political opponents no one accused him of inciting violence. When he was running against Senator Mc Cain and Governor Palin and his campaign was blasting “ninety nine problems but a b***h aint one from their audio system, no one accused him of misogyny, when Celo Green was belting out his hit single f*** you at a campaign rally in his last run for President, the media did not have a hissy fit about that. When the architect of Obama care was caught on a hot mike saying that they depended on the stupidity of the American people to pass the bill, only the conservative media thought that was a problem, when Mr. Obama was caught on a hot mike saying to Mr. Putin that he “will have more flexibility” when he is re-elected the media did not accuse him of colluding with Putin. When members of his administration were caught saying they would use the ignorance of twenty seven year old reporters who knew nothing about foreign policy to sell the Iranian deal on a false premise, hardly anyone blinked an eye. When one Texas politician made a joke some years ago about Texas independence, he was roundly criticized and called a racist, today the left is not just talking about it, but seriously discussing California secession. I could keep going on, but I think you get the point. Listen to the words of Immanuel Cleaver, President of the Congressional Black Caucus speaking about the rise in unemployment among black people. If Obama were not president they “probably would be marching on the White House.”

The response of many, to criticism of Mr. Obama is so typical of the victim mentality. This man was elected to the most powerful position in the world, but all opposition to him is termed disrespect.

What Mr. Trump is going through is unprecedented. No one was protesting Mr. Obama before he was even sworn in. No one protested President Obama’s inauguration, no one was protesting the next day before he even had the chance to implement any policy. No one accused him of being an illegitimate President like John Lewis accused President Trump, 67 congressmen did not boycott Mr. Obama’s inauguration, no holdover in the Justice Department from President Bush refused to defend the Presidents executive order, there was no congressman like Maxine Waters promising that she will not work with the President, no one on Saturday live made fun of Malia, or Sasha Obama on Saturday Night Live. There were no prominent fashion designers calling to boycott dressing Michelle Obama, no articles in the Daily Mail calling her an escort. By this time most of Mr. Obama’s cabinet was approved, there were no Senators repeating in the hope that it would stick, that Mr. Obama is mentally ill, no Hollywood director saying we cannot allow Obama’s Presidency to spread, no protesters of Mr. Obama’s Education Secretary blocking her from entering a school, no CEO promising to assassinate him, no burning cars in the streets, I will ask you again…should I go on? These are not minor incidents by obscure people on the left these are prominent people, the leaders of the movement. There is no parallel on the right, none. It has always been the norm that no matter how bitter an election campaign, there is always a “honeymoon period with the incoming President (no matter how short) except in this case. So here is my guarantee to you. As sure as you will not find grass growing in the Sahara desert, you will not find equivalent examples of President Obama being treated the way Mr. Trump is, and the only thing that is asinine is the premise there is any.