Duardo Paz-Martinez: It's "President Barack Obama. . Your Style Denigrates Him and You. . ."

Duardo Paz-Martinez

If you get the impression that this article is a refutation of a criticism, please reread it.  This blog receives valid and invalid criticism, none more appreciated than the occasional chastisements from Duardo Paz-Martinez, former writer for the Brownsville Herald, the Boston Globe and a published author.  

Personally, I'm not a true believer in credentials.  Either you can write or you cannot, speak with effectiveness or you cannot, communicate ideas clearly or you cannot.  I picked up this philosophy in 30 seconds when I was 14, trying to make a point with an older person.  I tried to enhance an argument by quoting a Harvard professor.  "And you think I'm impressed because a Harvard professor supposedly said that?"  asked the older, more experienced debater.  I never again used credentials, mine or anyone else's to enhance or add weight to an argument.

/D P-M took a bit of righteous umbrage to my simple phrasing in this paragraph of a story submitted December 16:  

"As Barack Obama spoke in Newtown, Connecticut today, he enunciated the first name of each of the twenty children mowed down. He spoke as a parent primarily, a president secondarily. Sandy Hook, he said, was the fourth mass killing at a school since he took office. He said this had to stop."

Please notice that I did not refer to the president as President Barack Obama, simply as Barack Obama.  I said that he spoke as "a parent."  Mr. Paz-Martinez found this disrespectful to the office, if not the man.  He seemed also to profile me as one who did not vote for Barack Obama, thus hinting that some sort of partisanship rooted my disrespect.(Actually, I've voted for him twice, although that's irrelevant.)

Here is /DP-M's exact comment to the blog article:

"/DP-MDecember 17, 2012 5:25 AM

[As Barack Obama spoke in Newtown, Connecticut]

The proper manner to introduce this gentleman is "President Barack Obama," at least in first reference. He is the country's leader and, like it or not, you should be respectful to the office. More Americans voted for him than for the other guy. Your style denigrates him, and you...

/DP-M"

Mean Mister Brownsville

Disagreeing that my omission of the title "President" was disrespectful, I responded quickly, then a bit more thoughtfully:

"Jim BartonDecember 17, 2012 6:25 AM

bull shit. As I stated in the article, Barack was speaking as a parent, not a president. I gave him his due and continue to do so.

Jim

Jim BartonDecember 17, 2012 10:13 AM

Lame Anonymous and /DP-M,
I'm not bound by the journalistic limitations of the Brownsville Herald or Boston Globe. I don't have to include the score in the headline or write in iambic pentameter. I do not write in the style of Duardo Paz-Martinez or Tad Hasse nor would I ever trade styles. I do permit grammar nazi Rey Guevara-Vasquez to pontificate about misspellings, grammatical errors he is able to catch, because with each correction he solidifies his role as a small-minded, insecure critic who cannot himself create written material of any interest.

My article portrayed Obama as more than a mere president, but as a parent of Malia Ann and Sasha who was appealing to the parents of twenty other young ones with compassion, empathy, feeling and genuineness. To trifle over my intentional omission of his title misses the entire thrust of my article. Obama is one of three recent presidents(Clinton and Reagan are the others), who in my opinion, possessed the skill of natural, heartfelt speech. That is one of my few personal skills, talking to a group of 70 or 70,000 in a natural, real way.

I write a silly, frivolous, inconsequential blog that in 18 months has received nearly a million pageviews. However, you interpret that, someone is reading the shit.

Jim"

Then, this evening, listening to Anderson Cooper's interview of Chris and Lynn McConnell, parents of Grace McConnell, 7, who was buried today in Newtown, CT., I realized my impression of Obama was not unique.  Here is an excerpt from a transcript of the CNN story:

Chris and Lynn McConnell
On Hearing Their Daughter
Grace Had Been Slain

"When asked what the experience of meeting the President was like, she said that when Mr Obama walked into the room, ‘he was just a dad.’ 

The couple spoke with the President briefly, and told him of their daughter's artistic talent. They also gave him one of Grace’s favorite pictures – a cerulean and lime-green painted owl. They said that the President told them that he’d treasure the painting forever."



That was my gut feeling too.  When writing the original story, I started to type "President", but stopped myself, because it didn't feel right.  It actually diminished Barack's role to one of obligation, part of his job description, fulfilling the oath of office, not some compassionate, human gesture with REAL feelings motivating him.  The McConnells picked up on that too.