Great religious prophets, when they create a new religion, usually treat the greatest prophets of pre-existing great religions as their precursors. In this way, they gain credibility while putting the earlier prophets in their place.
Barack Obama is trying to do something like this when it comes to previous presidents, as Seth Mendel of Commentary discovered when he visited a White House website that provides biographies of former presidents. Mandel found that Team Obama has added bullet points bragging about Obama’s accomplishments to the biographical sketches of every U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge (except, for some reason, Gerald Ford).
For example:
On Feb. 22, 1924 Calvin Coolidge became the first president to make a public radio address to the American people. President Coolidge later helped create the Federal Radio Commission, which has now evolved to become the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). President Obama became the first president to hold virtual gatherings and town halls using Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc.
On August 14, 1935, President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Today the Obama administration continues to protect seniors and ensure Social Security will be there for future generations.
In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.
I’m not sure why the White House left out Gerald Ford. It could easily have said:
During his college days, Gerald Ford was an outstanding football player, winning All-American honors at the University of Michigan. President Obama is a terrific pick-up basketball player with the sweetest left-handed jump shot you ever did see.
And why did the White House go back only as far as Coolidge? Here a few more presidents he could have compared himself to:
Woodrow Wilson believed in a “living Constitution” because he opposed limited government, separation of powers, and checks and balances. President Obama also believes in a living Constitution, and is none too fond of limited government, separation of powers, and checks and balances.
William Howard Taft was our fattest president and at times had trouble with stairs. President Obama is our most svelte president and he literally bounds up stairs, at least when the cameras are rolling.
Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese War. President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for…
Abraham Lincoln guided the North to victory in the Civil War, making many difficult decisions along the way. In the struggle against some misguided people who may want to harm us, President Obama made the excruciatingly difficult decision to take out Osama bin Laden.
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