THE RIGHT AND WRONG WAYS FOR A PRESIDENT TO CHEW GUM

Alan Colmes writes:

The right wing's latest attack on President Obama is that he was allegedly chewing gum at the Joplin, MO memorial service. Gateway Pundit sarcastically writes "Classy" and suggests he learned these manners at Trinity Church. Then it is suggested it must be Nicorette, because we know that no conservative has ever tried to quit smoking. This is all they’ve got.

Yeah, because a Republican president would never chew gum at an inappropriate time!

Oh, wait:

Saturday, May 25, 2002


In a gilded Kremlin hall, President Bush and President Vladimir Putin of Russia signed agreements Friday sharply reducing their nuclear arsenals from the peaks of the Cold War and committing themselves to be partners in a fight against terrorism and its sponsors.

After polite but strained talks, the two leaders put their signatures on a remarkably brief 475-word document -- dubbed the Treaty of Moscow....

The meeting contrasted sharply with the friendly relationship Bush had fostered with his Russian counterpart in four previous meetings. After the meeting, NTV, the once-independent Russian television station now controlled by a state-dominated firm, kept replaying footage of Bush entering his meeting with Putin while chewing gum and then spitting it into his hand....

Yeah, but ... but ... that's when a president should chew gum! When he's talking to some red Russki commie! And so what if they were discussing nuclear proliferation in a post-9/11 era! Screw diplomatic niceties! Putin is a pinko and George W. Bush is a great American! U-S-A! U-S-A!