Take Back the Flag

I wonder how many people in America are still subscribed to Barack Obama’s email updates and Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty newsletter.  Seems like these two organizations should have checked with each other before sending out their Independence Day messages.  I guess at some point, we run out of standard political speak for certain events, and end up with two individuals, with very different views using the same stuff.

President Obama:

“Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, our nation was born when a courageous group of patriots pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the proposition that all of us were created equal.”

Representative Paul:

“On this day 233 years ago, our Founding Fathers stood up to the most powerful nation on earth and declared to the world that all men are created with rights that cannot justifiably be taken away by any government.”

Paul doesn’t waste any time getting to his political agenda.  The President is more subtle.

But the best part is their identical use of one phrase.

President Obama:

“Our country began as a unique experiment in liberty…”

Representative Paul:

“…they persevered in a hard-fought Revolution to create an experiment in liberty…”

As expected, the two diverge in the rest of their messages.  Paul states confidently that the founding fathers “would be outraged by how far the federal government has drifted from their vision,” and “ would be proud of our growing movement to reclaim the Republic they sacrificed so much to leave us.”  The president is vague in his message, sharing only the sentiment “As free people, we must each take the challenges and opportunities that face this nation as our own.”  He also uses the holiday to promote www.serve.gov.

These similarities are expected, but it was especially amusing to read them from Obama and Paul in the same fashion on the same day.
Happy Fourth of July!  233 years, and going strong.