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My Turn To Say 'Let Me Be Clear'
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Published: February 20, 2009
President Barack Obama really likes to say, "Let me be clear," before he speaks pontifically about nothing specific nor in any way particularly informative. But now it's my turn to speak clearly — perhaps even with enough logic and fact to engage inquiring minds.
Right at the start, kindly allow me to stipulate that I hope — my god how I hope — that Obama will turn out to be a great chief executive and an inspirational leader, because seldom before has this nation faced such major threats to its welfare — its very existence. That said, I must admit that I am nagged by major doubts; a few of which I'd like to discuss.
There may have been other presidents elected based primarily by a cult of personality and popular, trendy, socio-political changes and seemingly lofty ideals, but I don't know of one. Obama was not elected in a landslide nor by any "mandate" of the people. In fact, without the nearly unanimous, irrational and uninformed support of inappropriately-called "African-Americans," along with immature, emotion-driven children vacationing at meaningless colleges and a gaggle of spaced-out Californians, Obama would have lost the election to a candidate as unpopular and undesirable as Sen. John McCain.
Obama is now our president, in spite of his lack of experience, and with his unusually questionable and worrisome past, I do therefore pray for him and for our nation.
As is sickenly illustrated by the recent "Commemorative Inaugural Edition" of Newsweek, most of our news media and perhaps half of our population are still feeling a thrill creep up their legs when the name "Obama" is mentioned. What a damning testimony to our national intelligence and general emotional maturity — how sad; how potentially dangerous!
Right on the cover of that mawkish edition, Newsweek's adoring, gushing editors quote their messiah as saying, "We are ready to lead once more." When and where, it is fair to ask, did they lead before? As another infamous Democrat once established, "It depends upon what the meaning of 'is' is." If Obama was referring to "a Democratic administration and Congress" when he said "we," then perhaps he was thinking of a time when FDR used socialist economics, in conjunction with World War II, to lead us out of the Great Depression. I don't approve of most of FDR's economic policies, but I'll grant that he was indeed a great leader. Barrack Hussein Obama is no Franklin Delano Roosevelt — in fact neither is he an Abraham Lincoln, whose ghost he attempted to invoke during his avoidable, economically-wasteful, mob-mentality, sports-victory, celebration-style inauguration.
Obama is able to eloquently read from a teleprompter, but is he capable of much of anything else? "Yes we can!" "Can" what? Appoint a secretary of the treasury who isn't capable of filing a reasonably-correct federal income tax form or is, perhaps, guilty of submitting an intentionally dishonest one? Hire a chief of staff with clear connections to some of the more undesirable elements of dirty politics? Perhaps decide to apologize to Osama Bin Laden for our having picked on that terrorist's religious disciples, which seek to utterly destroy the United States? Or, during a national economic crisis, spend billions of tax dollars on "pork" projects, such as free TV converter boxes, generally unproductive college scholarships, new computers for government agencies, further study of sexually transmitted diseases or simply handing out freshly-printed billions in the guise of "tax rebates" to persons who haven't paid income taxes?
On the other hand, if the shiny new president used "we" to mean the United States of America, in its long-time role as world leader, I worry even more, because until there is clear evidence that we are well on our way in recovering from our current, preventable, economic disaster, our role on the world stage must be put on hold. Only after our economy is on solid footing, and the massive debt incurred in its recovery essentially repaid, should our president begin to satisfy his stated desire to sit down on a circle of prayer rugs and hold hands with enemies who threaten and intend to bury us.
Yes, Obama is a man with a worrisome past and almost no applicable experience. Will his image (as the Messiah) be enough to carry him through even a couple of years of serious challenge? It'll truly be a miracle if so. I sincerely hope for that miracle!
Of Cabbages and Kings is a regular column of this paper. The author welcomes rational comments sent to him at john@have-eye.com.
President Barack Obama really likes to say, "Let me be clear," before he speaks pontifically about nothing specific nor in any way particularly informative. But now it's my turn to speak clearly — perhaps even with enough logic and fact to engage inquiring minds.
Right at the start, kindly allow me to stipulate that I hope — my god how I hope — that Obama will turn out to be a great chief executive and an inspirational leader, because seldom before has this nation faced such major threats to its welfare — its very existence. That said, I must admit that I am nagged by major doubts; a few of which I'd like to discuss.
There may have been other presidents elected based primarily by a cult of personality and popular, trendy, socio-political changes and seemingly lofty ideals, but I don't know of one. Obama was not elected in a landslide nor by any "mandate" of the people. In fact, without the nearly unanimous, irrational and uninformed support of inappropriately-called "African-Americans," along with immature, emotion-driven children vacationing at meaningless colleges and a gaggle of spaced-out Californians, Obama would have lost the election to a candidate as unpopular and undesirable as Sen. John McCain.
Obama is now our president, in spite of his lack of experience, and with his unusually questionable and worrisome past, I do therefore pray for him and for our nation.
As is sickenly illustrated by the recent "Commemorative Inaugural Edition" of Newsweek, most of our news media and perhaps half of our population are still feeling a thrill creep up their legs when the name "Obama" is mentioned. What a damning testimony to our national intelligence and general emotional maturity — how sad; how potentially dangerous!
Right on the cover of that mawkish edition, Newsweek's adoring, gushing editors quote their messiah as saying, "We are ready to lead once more." When and where, it is fair to ask, did they lead before? As another infamous Democrat once established, "It depends upon what the meaning of 'is' is." If Obama was referring to "a Democratic administration and Congress" when he said "we," then perhaps he was thinking of a time when FDR used socialist economics, in conjunction with World War II, to lead us out of the Great Depression. I don't approve of most of FDR's economic policies, but I'll grant that he was indeed a great leader. Barrack Hussein Obama is no Franklin Delano Roosevelt — in fact neither is he an Abraham Lincoln, whose ghost he attempted to invoke during his avoidable, economically-wasteful, mob-mentality, sports-victory, celebration-style inauguration.
Obama is able to eloquently read from a teleprompter, but is he capable of much of anything else? "Yes we can!" "Can" what? Appoint a secretary of the treasury who isn't capable of filing a reasonably-correct federal income tax form or is, perhaps, guilty of submitting an intentionally dishonest one? Hire a chief of staff with clear connections to some of the more undesirable elements of dirty politics? Perhaps decide to apologize to Osama Bin Laden for our having picked on that terrorist's religious disciples, which seek to utterly destroy the United States? Or, during a national economic crisis, spend billions of tax dollars on "pork" projects, such as free TV converter boxes, generally unproductive college scholarships, new computers for government agencies, further study of sexually transmitted diseases or simply handing out freshly-printed billions in the guise of "tax rebates" to persons who haven't paid income taxes?
On the other hand, if the shiny new president used "we" to mean the United States of America, in its long-time role as world leader, I worry even more, because until there is clear evidence that we are well on our way in recovering from our current, preventable, economic disaster, our role on the world stage must be put on hold. Only after our economy is on solid footing, and the massive debt incurred in its recovery essentially repaid, should our president begin to satisfy his stated desire to sit down on a circle of prayer rugs and hold hands with enemies who threaten and intend to bury us.
Yes, Obama is a man with a worrisome past and almost no applicable experience. Will his image (as the Messiah) be enough to carry him through even a couple of years of serious challenge? It'll truly be a miracle if so. I sincerely hope for that miracle!
Of Cabbages and Kings is a regular column of this paper. The author welcomes rational comments sent to him at john@have-eye.com.
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