No one asked me for advice on this, but I’ll offer it unsolicited — and without reservation.
President Obama should have decided to attend the funeral this weekend for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
To me, it’s a no-brainer.
The president will not attend. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are going to attend, as they share Scalia’s Catholic faith.
But look at it this way. The optics of seeing the president of the United States paying his respects at the funeral of someone with whom he had profound political and judicial disagreements are invaluable.
Yes, the president will attend a ceremony at the Supreme Court building to honor the late justice. He also has been quite gracious in his public comments in reaction to the shocking news of Scalia’s death while on a hunting trip in West Texas.
Indeed, some on the right have given Obama a pass on attending. Scalia’s own son even has suggested that the president made the right call by deciding against attending the justice’s funeral.
However, Obama has given his fierce critics in the conservative media ammunition now to fire at him for declining to attend the funeral. White House press officials haven’t disclosed how the president will spend Saturday while much of official Washington and the nation’s legal community is honoring the memory of Justice Scalia. My hope is that he lays low and spends it quietly.
He’s got a huge decision to make — possibly within the next few days. It involves his choice to succeed Scalia — a gigantic and booming voice for conservatives on the court. Senate Republicans don’t even want to consider an appointment. Others insist that the president make the choice. I am one of those who believes the president should fulfill his duties by selecting a nominee for the high court.
OK, so no one asked me for my opinion about the funeral. Why should they? I’m way out yonder in the political peanut gallery far from the government epicenter.
It’s just that as someone noted in the link attached to this blog post indicated, if you’re questioning whether you should go to the funeral … go to the funeral.
So the optics of not attending are bad and he gives his critics ammunition against him.
Could I add another reason or two to go? How about decency? How about respect for a high-ranking member of your government? How about to show support for the family and unity to the country in a time of loss? I guess all of those pale in comparison to the politics of it all.
And you decry the absence of civility in our politicians yet write such a piece totally avoiding any mention of humanity and decency in favor of the political gamesmanship of it all. It’s no wonder our politics are in the state they’re in.
You’re right. I got caught up in the politics of it. Should have recognized the obvious when it was right there in front of my face.
To counter the argument that Obama should attend the funeral, I think Obama is in a Catch-22, and he’s right for not attending the funeral. If he doesn’t attend, he’s seen as someone who puts politics before humanity. And if he does go, he will be lambasted for feigning affection in order to gain leverage in getting his nominee appointed to the court.
When a president travels anywhere, there’s a lot of disruption and alterations to everything surrounding an event and its location. I think by not attending, he is showing respect to the Scalia family by sparing them the fanfare of a presidential visit.
Thanks, Trent.