First Black President Won't Attend 150th Anniversary of Gettysburg Address

Toon by AF "Tony" Branco

Katie Pavlich, TownHall.com: Simply amazing. The first black President of the United States of America will not attend the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address. Lincoln gave the address just a few months after the gruesome three-day Gettysburg battle in 1863 that resulted in the loss of 51,000 men. A Union victory changed the course of the Civil War by sending General Robert E. Lee and his confederate army into retreat. From the Washington Times: It may be little more than a blip on Washington’s radar screen, but President Obama’s decision to be a no-show at an upcoming ceremony to mark the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address has touched off a firestorm in Pennsylvania.

Local newspapers Thursday excoriated the president, a noted admirer of the 16th president, for skipping the historic occasion.

A journalist at Harrisburg’s Patriot News said Mr. Obama doesn’t have “the stones” to attend; York’s Daily Record newspaper called the decision “unacceptable” and said “Mr. Obama’s retreat from Gettysburg will linger long and bitter.”

The Gettysburg Times reported that local officials in and around the town have spent months preparing — in vain — for a potential visit from Mr. Obama, who twice carried Pennsylvania in the presidential election (by 11 percentage points in 2008 and five in 2012).

Instead, the White House will send Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to the Nov. 19 event, which will be held at the Soldiers' National Cemetery.I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all, Barack Obama is a Democrat. Abraham Lincoln, the president who ended slavery, was a Republican.

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