Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Amanda Thatcher Impresses at Grandmother's Funeral

The state funeral for Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the first woman Prime Minister of Great Britain, was held Wednesday in London.  Continuing with his habit of neglect in our relationship with Great Britain, President Obama decided not to send a high-level official delegate on behalf of our nation.


I recount this history because it is often forgotten that the special relationship between Britain and the U.S. after World War II and the countries’ close alliance against Soviet Communism was far from inevitable. On the contrary, it took painstaking diplomacy and bold gestures. Which is why the Obama administration’s decision to take the alliance with Britain for granted, marked by its repeated thoughtlessness and insulting behavior toward the British crown and government, is so foolish. And rather than learn from its blunders, the administration appears to be content to continue making such mistakes.
Following on its refusal to recognize British sovereignty over the Falklands or the Falklands residents’ own wishes, the Obama administration decided not to send a high-level official to Margaret Thatcher’s funeral service today. It did not go unnoticed.
Thatcher and Ronald Reagan carried to victory the Cold War partnership begun by Truman and Churchill. The Cold War has always been a sore subject for this administration, which has endlessly taunted those who want to remember the history at all. (This might have something to do with Vice President Joe Biden’s less-than-stellar record during the Cold War.) And since Thatcher rescued her country from the grips of suffocating union dominance and the Western left’s declinist fetish, it’s not too surprising the president would not want attention drawn to that either. But that’s still no excuse.
Some notable Americans decided to make the trip -  led by Dick Cheney, the delegation included James Baker and George Schultz.


The American delegation was led by former Vice President Dick Cheney and two other veterans of Republican administrations, George P. Shultz, 92, and James A. Baker III, 82.Funeral organizers said that they had invited all the former American presidents, but that none had accepted. Officials said they had cited a range of reasons, from poor health in the case of the first President George Bush, to previous engagements, in the case of former President George W. Bush. Initially, organizers said there was a possibility that former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would attend, but she, too, declined, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.The absences drew critical comment from across the spectrum of British politics. Gerald Howarth, chairman of a Thatcherite group of Conservatives in Parliament, told The Daily Mail: “The bond forged between the U.K. and the U.S. through Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher was instrumental in ending the cold war and liberating millions of people. That the present administration feels unable to be represented as the world marks the extraordinary contribution Margaret Thatcher made will be a disappointment to those who served with her in that endeavor.”
How disappointing.  Thatcher deserved much better.

The British press is singing the praises of Thatcher's nineteen year old granddaughter, Amanda, who lives in Dallas with her mother. She attends college in Virginia.  Her brother, a chemist, also lives in Dallas and works as a pharmacist, according to report.



Meet Amanda Thatcher:



Perhaps a future Republican woman candidate in Texas.  One never knows.

1 comment:

Beverly said...

Thanks for sharing that video of Amanda. A timely Scripture passage.