Just a question, has any President done this before ?

POSTED BY: AURaptor
UPDATED: Monday, July 27, 2026 16:57
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AURAPTOR

Saturday, December 10, 2011 3:40 PM

Quote:

On Thursday, President Obama, along with the First Lady and Vice President Joe Biden, marked Hannukah - the Jewish Festival of Lights - with a celebration at the White House.

Hannukah, however, does not start until sunset on Dec 20, not Dec. 8.

Howard Portnoy of Hot Air notes that Obama also broke with Jewish tradition of lighting "only one candle the first night, increasing that number by 1 each of the eight nights of the holiday." Instead, Obama lit all of the candles.

Barry, it's not a candelabra.

Look, I GET that you want to get the hell out of DC ,and spend yet another family vacation in Hawai'i. Sure, what ever... knock yourself out. And since you'll be on the beach, sipping mai tais w/ Michelle, it's fine that you want to remind all your Jewish voters , those with deep pockets, to remember you when they give their campaign donations , but seriously ? Why can't you just have the menorah there, and remind everyone that the first candle will be lit, appropriately, on the first night of Hanukkah, and just leave it at that ? Why must you make a complete mockery of a non-Muslim tradition ?

No excuse for this. And this isn't Barry's 1st rodeo, or December in the White House.

Add another one to the " if BUSH had done this"... the media would be going ape poopy over themselves in mocking him. But Barry ? Meh. He gets a complete pass.

FREMDFIRMA

Saturday, December 10, 2011 8:18 PM

Feh, non-issue.

Look, I always give benefit of the doubt when one of our presidents tries to respect traditions not their own no matter how badly they fumble, at least the attempt means something - as one might recall despite thinking he looked a bit silly I gave shrub some cred for wearing "local" garb overseas in an attempt to respect the culture of others just as I did obama, who also looked a bit silly hisself.

I find it a bit odd that his buddy Rahm didn't explain it to him, but maybe they had a falling out or something, who bloody knows...

Anyhow, hamfisted fumble it may be, at least the pretense was there, which is far more than MY beliefs ever get from the powers that be.

I do take your point about shoulda known better, but obama has his D'oh! moments too, remember his gifts to the british court, neh ?

-F

KWICKO

Saturday, December 10, 2011 8:51 PM

Quote:
Posted by Rappy:

Barry, it's not a candle opera.

It's not a WHAT?!

Oh, I know - he was lighting one for each of the "eight unelected Supreme Court Justices" that Rick Perry was whinging about.

Nope - that can't be it, because there are NINE candles there (same as the number of Supremes, but don't tell Ricky; numbers only confuse him)

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

CANTTAKESKY

Saturday, December 10, 2011 9:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
I do take your point about shoulda known better, but obama has his D'oh! moments too,...

All of those advisers and not one of them is Jewish?

PN would be so disappointed.

-----
Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth. -- Lucy Parsons (1853-1942, labor activist and anarcho-communist)

ANTHONYT

Saturday, December 10, 2011 10:32 PM

"It's not a WHAT?!"

Hello,

He's a basher, not a fact-checker. What do you expect?

--Anthony

_______________________________________________

"In every war, the state enacts a tax of freedom upon the citizenry. The unspoken promise is that the tax shall be revoked at war's end. Endless war holds no such promise. Hence, Eternal War is Eternal Slavery." --Admiral Robert J. Henner

AURAPTOR

Saturday, December 10, 2011 10:56 PM

It's not a candelabra. The meaning was clear for all, but the predictable dismissal of this is to be expected. Had any GOP muffed up the menorah lighting, we'd never hear the ending of it. Late night tv would give non stop jokes, yet Barry? " meh ". Praise, even, not scorn or ridicule. No media or left wing bias going on, at all.

Had he blown them all out, & wished for world peace, the media would have only praised him all the more.

" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Saturday, December 10, 2011 10:56 PM

Looks like the early nature of the event was acknowledged by the Pres, and the event was carefully overseen by a Rabbi. Jewish newspapers are not reporting any offence, so I'm not sure why not doing it exactly to tradition offends any gentiles.

http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2011/12/09/3090661/white-house-h
olds-hanukkah-reception-in-the-wake-of-frenzy-over-officials-comments

Quote:
As he has in past years, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of American Friends of Lubavitch, supervised all preparation of the food to ensure it met the highest standards of kashrut.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4159199,00.html

Quote:
Getting into the holiday spirit Obama was brimming with jokes and good wishes. "We’re jumping the gun just a little bit," he noted. "The way I see it, we’re just extending the holiday spirit. We're stretching it out. But we do have to be careful that your kids don’t start thinking Hanukkah lasts 20 nights instead of eight."

The way I see it, holding it early means that the Jewish attendees get to celebrate Hannukah with their families, as it was intended.

And as for lighting the candle, Obama isn't jewish, unless some nutbag wants to start that as another rumour. He won't be lighting a candle every night of Hannakah, because he won't be celebrating Hannuakah. This is a friendly guesture, political in nature, to sure up the Iraeli/US alliance.

KWICKO

Sunday, December 11, 2011 12:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Looks like the early nature of the event was acknowledged by the Pres, and the event was carefully overseen by a Rabbi. Jewish newspapers are not reporting any offence, so I'm not sure why not doing it exactly to tradition offends any gentiles.

http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2011/12/09/3090661/white-house-h
olds-hanukkah-reception-in-the-wake-of-frenzy-over-officials-comments

Quote:
As he has in past years, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of American Friends of Lubavitch, supervised all preparation of the food to ensure it met the highest standards of kashrut.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4159199,00.html

Quote:
Getting into the holiday spirit Obama was brimming with jokes and good wishes. "We’re jumping the gun just a little bit," he noted. "The way I see it, we’re just extending the holiday spirit. We're stretching it out. But we do have to be careful that your kids don’t start thinking Hanukkah lasts 20 nights instead of eight."

The way I see it, holding it early means that the Jewish attendees get to celebrate Hannukah with their families, as it was intended.

And as for lighting the candle, Obama isn't jewish, unless some nutbag wants to start that as another rumour. He won't be lighting a candle every night of Hannakah, because he won't be celebrating Hannuakah. This is a friendly guesture, political in nature, to sure up the Iraeli/US alliance.

Never let the truth stand in the way of one of Rappy's little tantrums.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

ANTHONYT

Sunday, December 11, 2011 12:16 AM

Hello,

He's a basher, not a fact-checker. What do you expect?

--Anthony

_______________________________________________

"In every war, the state enacts a tax of freedom upon the citizenry. The unspoken promise is that the tax shall be revoked at war's end. Endless war holds no such promise. Hence, Eternal War is Eternal Slavery." --Admiral Robert J. Henner

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Sunday, December 11, 2011 12:58 AM

Nothing. Just wanted to chip in with a bit of reality.

If the worst you can say of your president is that he put on a Hannukah celebration and did it a bit less trad than expected, then he is clearly doing better than I thought.

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