PrintJuly 2, 2010
The decreasing relevancy of Obama's presidency
Barack Obama burst on the scene 18 months ago as the greatest political figure the world had ever seen. There was an almost worshipful adulation of him as people around the globe fainted, wept, and danced in the streets while watching his inauguration. There was foot stomping, shouts of hallelujah and a few "praise the lords" thrown in for good measure.
A lefty acquaintance of mine, knowing I am conservative, just had to inform me, excitedly, that "Finally! We have a president who knows what the hell he is doing!" To which I can now reply, "Well...not really."
Sometimes the smallest things can tell us volumes. He had campaigned on the closure of Guantanamo Bay for months before taking office, and his first act as president was to sign an executive order promising to close it by the end of 2009. The lefties were delirious with joy. By gum, this president was going to get rid of the ultimate symbol of the hated policies of the Nazi trio of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld!
At the signing, Obama turned to then White House Counsel Greg Craig, and asked something to the effect of "...exactly how is this going to work, Greg?" Caught off guard by the question, Craig shuffled his feet uncomfortably and mumbled something unintelligible. He didn't know, either.
They are six months late and they still don't know. This one incident tells us how Obama "thinks", or rather doesn't think. He believes that when he speaks, his words create reality; but the world doesn't allow itself to be shaped by the thoughts and musings of some shallow politician.
Almost no one now listens to him, and of those who do, fewer still believe him or take him seriously.
The Euros rejected his calls for more stimulus to their economies, recognizing what he apparently does not, that they and we are in danger of all collapsing under the weight of excessive spending. They told him to stuff it.
He hasn't ended either of the wars; he can't even keep a command structure in place for more than a few months at a time.
Terrorists are still attacking and killing us both on U.S. soil and abroad, despite all of his apologies. Where's the love?
The Russians are still spying on us, even though Hillary tried to press the "reset" button on relations.
The deficit is out of control.
The economy is not in recovery; his policies are not creating jobs or reducing unemployment.
The oil spill is still a disaster, but Obama did have one momentary thought; something about "sucking it up with a straw", but then he hastily stated that he really couldn't do that. Such is the kind of ideas we get from an Ivy League deep thinker.
So, is there anything he can do well? Well, yeah...he can point fingers, shift blame, and lecture us about all the things he dislikes about us.
He can also read one helluva TelePrompter.
