One of those memes is the idea that the protester, for the first time ever, is ashamed of the President. In the case of this sign, it’s expressed, “First time in my entire life I’m ashamed of my President!” This particular message is supposed to communicate the profound degree of discontent against anti-Obama activists.

Is the discontent truly so profound? I have my doubts.

The key to evaluating the honesty of this meme is the phrase “first time”. Is it really the first time that these protesters are ashamed of their President, or are they just pretending it is?

10 years ago, the President of the United States was Bill Clinton. As I remember it, a lot of right wingers, the sort of people now populating Tea Party protests, were expressing outrage at Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.

The hand holding this sign certainly doesn’t look very young. Its skin is starting to sag a bit, and is showing signs of mottling. Let’s be generous, and say that the hand is 30 years old. If that’s the case, then the protester was a 20 year-old adult during the Presidency of Bill Clinton. Others carrying similar signs were even older.

Either these people were not ashamed of Bill Clinton, or they’re liars. I’d love to hear from someone who has carried one of these protest signs explain to me which one it is: Does the Tea Party love Bill Clinton, or do its protesters just express outrage at any Democrat who happens to be sitting in the White House?

It just doesn’t sound as persuasive to state, “This is the second time in my life I am ashamed of my President!” It makes the protester sound like a habitual malcontent. That would be a rather inconvenient perception for the Tea Party, wouldn’t it?