O'Reilly, Obama, and Francis

 

            On March 13th I posted an article that said that foreign aid to Morocco over the years has paid dividends for the United States. On the same day, and purely a coincidence, Bill O'Reilly on his TV show criticized the government for giving $27 million in foreign aid to teach Moroccans how to make pottery. I usually agree with O'Reilly when he cites wasteful spending by our government. It's too bad that this time he didn't get his facts right.

            First, the $27 million was not a one-shot disbursement: the money covers a four-year program to fund a number of projects designed to help Morocco's economy. True, the program did include teaching the making of pottery, and I understand that it was a wasted effort because the teacher didn't speak the language and didn't use locally available materials, not to mention that Moroccans have been making pottery for centuries. This part of the program was quickly ended after using only a small portion of the funding. I wish Bill O'Reilly had gotten  the full story before bloviating (one of his favorite words) about it.
            Another spending story that caught my attention was a report that President Obama's recent Florida golf outing cost taxpayers $950,000. And that doesn't include the cost of sending Michelle and her entourage to Aspen for a bit of skiing on that same weekend. But then the president saved all that money by cutting out White House tours. Has the man no shame?
            A continent away an Argentine was elevated to the papacy, and one of the first things he did was to go to his hotel to pick up his bags and pay the bill. Himself. This is the same man who, as bishop of Buenos Aires, chose to live in a tiny apartment, cook his own food, and take the bus to work.
            The parallels between President Obama and Pope Francis are interesting: both have made speeches and sermons about how they identify with the poor and the downtrodden; both have taken action in their public lives to do something it. But in one important way the difference between the two is startling: in their personal lives only one practices what he preaches.