Lawmakers School Obama On National Motto

From OneNewsNow and Alliance Defense Fund:

Lawmakers school Obama on national motto


Associated Press - 12/7/2010 8:40:00 AM

A letter signed by 42 members of Congress criticizes President Barack Obama for telling students in Indonesia last month that America's national motto is "E Pluribus Unum."











Obama commented to the students last month that the U.S. and Indonesia share a similar history. "It is a story written into our national mottos. In the United States, our motto is 'E Pluribus Unum' -- out of many, one."



In a letter to the White House, members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus -- mostly Republican -- note that the national motto has been "In God We Trust" since 1956.



The caucus chairman, Congressman Randy Forbes (R-Virginia), says "In God We Trust" is too important to be forgotten. He says he and his fellow congressmen want to "make sure that we stand by that proposition and don't retreat from it."







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In a statement on the caucus website, Forbes states: "For the President of the United States to incorrectly state something as foundational as our national motto in another country is unacceptable. The President is the primary representative of our nation to the world, and whether mistake or intention, his actions cast aside an integral part of American society. President Reagan once warned that 'If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.'"



According to Forbes, the letter signed by the lawmakers "simply asks the president to correct [his] statement and to make sure when he's giving speeches in the future that he gets that correct."



The White House had no immediate comment on the letter.