OBAMA'S MEDAL MIXUP MISHAP

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V12 2009 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 12, Number 45, November 8, 2009, Article 12

OBAMA'S MEDAL MIXUP MISHAP

I guess it's good to know that numismatists (some of us, anyway) aren't the only ones who know and appreciate the difference between the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Medal of Freedom. President Obama (who's personally awarded both types of medals) confused the two this week, and the Conservative Blog Watch called him on it. -Editor

From the transcript of Obama's remarks this week at a tribal leaders conference:

I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow (ph) was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see you.

Ah, the dangers of giving shout outs without a teleprompter. Crow is not a Medal of Honor recipient.

Crow's name is not included on the Society's Medal of Honor recipient list. He was, however, awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in August.

Obama, often described as "cerebral" by the mainstream media, should know the difference between the Medal of Honor and the Medal of Freedom, especially since he personally awarded the latter to Crow.

To read the complete article, see: Obama Gives Shout Out to �Congressional Medal of Honor Winner' Who Isn't (www.conservativeblogwatch.com/2009/11/06/
obama-gives-shout-out-to-congressional-medal-of-honor-winner-who-isnt/)

We reported on the Medal of Freedom ceremony earlier this year. It doesn't take an act of Congress to get one of these (does it?). Obama seemed to be doling them out like bags of peanuts at a baseball game. Here's the picture of Obama awarding the medal to Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow -- High Bird, the only surviving Plains Indian war chief. It's easy to see why he remembered Crow. That's Sidney Poitier looking on. -Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: PRESIDENTIAL MEDALS OF FREEDOM AWARDED IN WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY (http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v12n33a19.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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