In a move to recognize the strides America has made in electing its first African American to the highest public office in the land, Senator Shirley Wynott (D-Id) has introduced a bill that would make every February 29 “National Barack Obama Day.”
Never in the history of the United States has a standing President been honored in such a way by having a day named after him while still living and while still in office. In introducing the legislation, Ms. Wynott stated that she got the idea after hearing that President Obama was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
“At that moment, I realized that next to Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama was one of the most influential and significant black leaders of our time and believed that there was no reason to wait for his death to honor him with his own national holiday. If he could get the Nobel Peace Prize while sending troops to two wars, why couldn’t he be honored with his own national holiday just on the things he has accomplished so far?”
But why February 29? It only comes once every 4 years. Ms. Wynott indicated that she first wanted to honor Obama on the anniversary of the date he became President, January 20, 2009; however, “it was just too close to Mr. King’s memorial date of the third Monday of January. Having National Barack Obama Day on the 3rd Tuesday of every January would just be overkill, and would likely spell doom for the proposed holiday.”
So, instead of having two African American holidays back-to-back in January plus a whole other month dedicated to black history, Ms. Wynott chose a compromise. “February is National Black History Month in America. February 29 occurs only once every 4 years. To appease those who may not agree with giving Obama his own national holiday while in office, I decided they might at least allow it every so often, and what better way to celebrate the end of Black History Month?”
Ms. Wynott’s proposal so far has met with fierce opposition from members of both parties in Congress. Said one Senator, who vehemently opposes the legislation, “we already celebrate two presidents in February, Washington and Lincoln. Why the hell do we need to keep adding names? Enough is enough already.”
In addition, Rush Limbaugh has dedicated the entire month of January and February to up his tirades against Obama so that if a vote is scheduled in the near future, it will be readily shot down and rightly so, in his opinion. Said Rush, “hrumph, hrumph, rumph, rumphty, rumphty, rumphty, rumph, Obama, rumphty, rumph.”