Like millions across the country and around the world, I was saddened to hear of the death of Neil Armstrong on Saturday. He was an inspiration to so many – a true American hero.
“As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own.”
~ NASA chief Charles Bolden ~
Despite his fame, by all accounts Armstrong was modest and self-effacing, avoiding the limelight whenever possible. As Mike Flynn at Breitbart put it, his heroism wasn’t so much the lunar walk;
It was how he comported himself afterwards that showed the true measure of the man. He was among the more famous human beings in history. Yet he retired to a quiet and private life teaching aeronautical engineering and tending to his farm. His walk on the moon wasn’t a personal achievement, per se, but an accomplishment for all of humanity.
Barack Obama on the other hand – true to form – took the opportunity of Armstrong’s passing to showcase [brace yourself -]… himself. The president offered a short tribute to the astronaut on his social media “tumbler” page, but apparently couldn’t manage to google an image of Armstrong, so he uploaded one of himself instead ➡
Notice how the wing of the plane not-so-subtly points right at the “One?” How arrogant can you get?
The contrast in character between the two men couldn’t be more stark. One, humble and quietly courageous. The other a narcissist of epic proportions.
Flynn sums up the dissimilarities nicely:
Obama is a literary construct. It’s as if Zelig jumped off the movie screen and took up residence in the Oval Office. He puts himself in the frame of historical events, even if he has only the smallest cameo. He let Democrats in Congress construct the stimulus package, as well as his signature legislation, Obamacare. He comes on the scene just in time for the photo-op, after others have done the heavy lifting.
Neil Armstrong did the heavy lifting. Even a tribute to his death is just another photo-op for Obama.
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The Narcissist-in-Chief may also be harboring some resentment for Armstrong’s entirely justified opposition to his re-direction of America’s space program ~
Armstrong went public in 2010 with his concerns about President Barack Obama’s space policy that shifted attention away from a return to the moon and emphasized private companies developing spaceships. He testified before Congress, and in an email to The Associated Press he said he had “substantial reservations.”
Source: Fox News
Related:
Neil Armstrong narrating his landing using Google Moon ~ Video of a September 2011 webcast from the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Original audio begins around the 6 min. mark – awesome!
When the “Eagle” landed
Pop Quiz – What were the first items consumed by an astronaut on the lunar surface?
