Did Obama Apologize in Hiroshima?

We have some audio sound bites of Obama in Hiroshima and commentators discussing what Obama has said, and I just want to leave it up to you as to what you think. Here’s a brief montage of the Drive-By Media insisting — insisting — that whatever Obama did on this trip, and particularly at Hiroshima, he was not apologizing for America.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: (music) The first sitting president to visit Hiroshima, laying a wreath addressing survivors but no apology.

MATT LAUER: (music) …stopping short of an apology.

KEVIN CORKE: No, he did not apologize.

ALISYN CAMEROTA: The president not giving an apology…

AKIKO FUJITA: President Obama, though, not offering an apology…

CHRIS CUOMO: No apology, but reconciliation.

RUSH: The daily soap opera again. The script. Even before he left it became a focal point: “Will Obama apologize? Will he or will he not?” and here’s the Drive-By Media: “No, he didn’t! He didn’t apologize!” They must be worried that people think he did.

I think Obama has. I know Clinton has. I know Clinton’s actually used the words “we’re sorry” or “I apologize on behalf of my country,” but I know what he means. Obama goes over and acknowledges the defects of his own country. I give you an example. This one happened in Washington. Some ChiCom diplomat was in town, and they were meeting with somebody I guess at the State Department, ChiCom diplomat meeting with US diplomat, State Department.

So let’s listen to Obama himself. This is Hiroshima. Obama participated in a wreath-laying ceremony. You know, this is not news to me. When I lived out in Sacramento, I worked there from 1984 through 1987. And the mayor at the time was a woman named Anne Rudin. I think she actually did join a delegation and went over there and did apologize. If I’m wrong about that, one thing I do remember is that every anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a bunch of leftists would gather in Sacramento somewhere and have a huge day-long apology ceremony.

And they would constantly talk about how necessary it was and how guilty they personally felt and how they needed to personally apologize. They’d get people like Martin Sheen show up for the thing when he wasn’t stealing sewer grates from the homeless to sleep on himself. So here’s Obama in Hiroshima, see what you think.

OBAMA: Seventy-one years ago on a bright, cloudless morning, death fell from the sky, and the world was changed. A flash of light and a wall of fire destroyed a city and demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself.

RUSH: Okay. So what’s your take on that? The tone of that, you have to look at the tone of this. And clearly Obama — and I do mean “clearly” — clearly Obama does not in any way sound supportive, declarative, or in agreement with the decision. Let’s not forget something about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those bombs were dropped years after we entered the war, hundreds of thousands were dead. The Nazis were attacking freedom in Europe and the Japanese were attacking freedom in the Pacific. And we were in the middle of both assaults.

By the way, do you think it’s coincidental that Obama’s doing all this on our Memorial Day weekend? By the way, do you know what our Memorial Day weekend is? I mean, seriously? Do you know what the purpose of Memorial Day is? And I’m not talking about barbecues and hot dogs. Do you know what the real purpose is? How does it distinguish itself, say, from Veterans Day? We are honoring the war dead on Memorial Day. We’re honoring the war dead. We’re honoring those who have sacrificed everything they have.

That’s what Memorial Day is.

As opposed to Independence Day, as opposed to Flag Day, as opposed to Labor Day, we are honoring the dead. Anybody find it coincidental Obama’s over in Japan lamenting the bombs at Hiroshima, Nagasaki, on Memorial Day? Now, he’s coming back; I mean, he’s on his way back now. He’ll be there for the wreath-laying. I don’t think the timing is a coincidence, myself.

Harry Truman, … Everything he said here could be said to be violation of political correctness to one degree or another.

[He] blames the Japanese for everything that’s happening here, and proudly — proudly — claims that we’ve wiped ’em out! We’ve wiped out a city. See, back in World War II, it was civilian death counts that determined who won and lost wars. There wasn’t any surgical anything back then. Dresden, Berlin, London, you name it. It was precisely civilian populations that were hit, in addition to military targets. There is what led to the Japanese surrender. Here’s more from Harry Truman, again, same situation, August 6, 1944, on board the USS Augusta in the mid-Atlantic.

We are now prepared to destroy more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake. We shall completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July the 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air the like of which has never been seen on this earth.

We have spent more than $2 billion on the greatest scientific gamble in history, and we have won. But the greatest marvel is not the size of the enterprise, its secrecy, or its cost, but the achievement of scientific brains in making it work. What has been done is the greatest achievement of organized science in history.

RUSH: He’s talking about the nuclear weapon there.

You know, the Democrat Party today and the Democrat Party when I was growing up, there isn’t any comparison. I’m still stunned at how seemingly overnight has been the move of the Democrat Party to total radical socialism.

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