Respect the President . . . unless you don't agree with him!

I have been watching the rapidly deteriorating amount of respect paid to our president over the past 16 months, and am constantly reminded of all the huffing and puffing I heard during Bush's term from the conservative side about respecting the president. Despite all the things Bush did or may have done that would warrant a loss of respect for him, he received a lot of unnecessary scorn and disrespect. At his worst he was nothing but an ignorant tool of the republican party and his big business connections, but he wasn't anything compared to Hitler; and for that matter, neither is our current president. When your argument comes down to comparing a person to one of the most vile and hated figures in recent history, you've lost your argument. Why not compare to Pol Pot or Stalin, who killed more the 23 million, or Mao Ze-Dong, a brutal leader that may have killed over 78 million. This is all due to our Americanized, Euro-centric view of the world, but that is a subject for another post.
I just found it startling how fast the 'respect for the office' argument went right out the window as soon as Obama was sworn in. Within days he was hailed with news of his failed presidency, much to his surprise, I'm sure. Among the other horrible things said about him, such classics as: Nazi, Fascist, Socialist, Communist, Racist, Anti-American and Unpatriotic. Sounds like someone who wouldn't want to President of this country, despite the conflicting nature of the monikers.
As president, Barack should expect a little bullying from his opponents, he's never going to get everyone to agree with or like him. But this has just gotten completely out of hand, and is being led by the media giants MSNBC and FNC. Pundits like Hannity claim that there is this 'Obama-mania Media' out there somewhere that lauds every bowel movement he makes, but I have yet to see it. His support is still broad, but generally quite, especially in comparison to the anti-Obama fanatics out there screaming on street corners and crying on their very own talk shows.
The hatred, fear and ignorance is becoming palpable, but is still no excuse for the massive disrespect paid to the elected leader of this country. You can hate him all you want, but he is still your president. Try writing a letter sharing your concerns rather than posting hateful, jackass comments on threads everywhere on the Internet. Even former president Bush's wife, Laura Bush agrees with respecting the president, no matter who it is.
His speech to school children last year was an excellent marker for how deep the hatred and disrespect for our president has spread. Parents wanted schools to boycott the televised message, fearing he might infect our kids with such socialist sentiments as 'staying in school' and working hard. What a bastard. This is a great message to send to children, isn't it? Never trust anything the president says. Isn't it a big conservative ideal to teach children respect for your parents, elders and leaders? It definitely should be.