Apparently an invitation to the White House is only offered to those who aren’t too “political” or in other words, have fought against socialism (oh, semantics…). Seeing that Lech Walesa successfully led Poland’s revolt against Soviet communism, I guess that puts him on the blacklist.
All this, of course, comes off the heels of the president’s “Polish death camp” gaffe, which caused a firestorm of outrage in Poland and was met by a less than sincere response from the administration.
Via Rory Cooper on NRO:
“According to the Wall Street Journal, Polish officials requested that Walesa accept the Medal of Freedom on behalf of Jan Karski, a member of the Polish Underground during World War II who was being honored posthumously this week. The request makes sense. Walesa and Karski shared a burning desire to rid Poland of tyrannical subjugation. But President Obama said no.”
But why the rebuff? Administration officials told the Journal it was just that Walesa is too “political.” Considering President Obama recently awarded the Medal to the honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, Dolores Huerta - interpret as you will.
Cooper speculates:
“The likelihood is that President Obama didn’t want Walesa in the White House because Walesa has made critical remarks toward the president’s policies and in 2010 warned that the United States was slipping toward socialism. But rather than taking the mature and diplomatic path and respecting Walesa’s right to have a differing perspective, Obama chose to shun his lifetime of achievements.”
Oh, the unbreakable bond between Nobel laureates…