Man, that poor Hitler just can't catch a break, can he? It's bad enough they compared the poor guy to Satan, and compared his mustache to Chaplin's, but ... Obama??? Is there no end to this Hitler-bashing?
Grammar note:
There's nothing inherently bad in "comparing" someone to Hitler. One meaning of the verb "compare" is "estimate, measure, or note the similarity or dissimilarity between." The OED lists one definition as "to mark or point out the similarities and differences of (two or more things); to bring or place together (actually or mentally) for the purpose of noting the similarities and differences."
Here's an example: "Uncle Scoopy is a lot nicer guy than Hitler." OK, maybe it's a debatable sentiment, but it's still a comparison and not insulting - at least not to me, although Hitler might be a bit hacked off if he were still around. I don't mind at all being compared to Hitler as long as I am compared favorably.
Here's another example: "Obama and Huckabee are compassionate men; Hitler was not." Obama and Huckabee are being compared to Hitler. No big deal.
What would be bad would be to "equate" Obama to Hitler, or worse still to "compare" him "unfavorably." In this case Gawker should have said "equate" or "liken" to make the point they were going for.
Monday, July 27, 2015
"Mike Huckabee Compares Obama to Hitler"
"Mike Huckabee Compares Obama to Hitler"
Having worked with Mike Huckabee in radio, I know that he's visited Israel about 44 times and the death camps multiple times, and nobody takes the Holocaust or threats to Israel more seriously than he does. He wasn't calling Obama Hitler, he was pointing out that Obama is naively pushing an agreement that will likely leave Iran in possession of a nuclear weapon that they have repeatedly vowed to use to obliterate Israel in a new Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, he cited this quote from a representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Kahmenei's Iranian Martyr Foundation (and it's always nice for a national leader to have one of those): "We have manufactured missiles that allow us...to replace Israel...with a big holocaust." Can't get much plainer than that. If Huckabee were comparing Obama to any historical figure, Neville Chamberlain would be much more apt.
On a related subject, I've found it amusing to see all these liberal bloggers getting their panties in a wad over the very notion of anyone likening Obama to Hitler. If most of them had to remove every derogatory reference to some Republican as "Hitler" or a "Nazi," their blogs would be half as long.