On the news, various talking heads have claimed that Obama is a weak President. And, of course, Obama immediately responded, "I'm not a weak President". I guess that completes that news cycle.
I do not think Obama is a weak President. It is worse than that. I think he is a disinterested President. I recall when I was about ten or eleven years old, I visited a college book store with someone. I spotted a paperback book on a scientific subject that I wanted to buy. It was the cover art that caught my fancy. When I took it to the register, the clerk suggested I read a little of it first. She knew it was too advanced for me. After a quick scan I bought the book. I was too proud to admit it was beyond me. Needless to say, I never read the book. Like the President, I lost interest in something too difficult.
Barack Obama did not understand the Presidency nor does he understand people. Unfortunately, he never allowed himself to learn. He is cold to people. He doesn't negotiate and bring people into his fold. He does not compromise. And I mean that in a bad way.
Obama had a dream of the Presidency. He had a personal agenda. In his mind, getting the Presidency was like getting a magic wand. He felt he would be all powerful. Just to express his wishes was to have them granted. He could remake the world.
Then reality struck. Between him and his pipe dream sat 435 egos in the House and 100 even bigger egos in the Senate. Most of these people had been around for a while and didn't exactly swoon at his feet. They all had their agendas too. Obama found out that being President was actually hard work. He lost interest. He immediately reverted to continuous campaign mode. Speechify, schmooze with the rich and famous, be seen. And along the way write Presidential orders to accomplish in a quasi-legal manner what you can't accomplish by Constitutional legislative means.
Barack Obama wanted to be a transitional President. He has accomplished that. The economy is worse, health care is a mess, we have endured scandal after scandal, there are still no jobs, we have lost freedoms, the very Constitution is in jeopardy, our military is weakened, our allies no longer trust us, and our enemies no longer fear us. Yessir. Barack Obama has been a transitional President. Do you suppose that this is exactly the transition he was aiming for?
Good commentary. I take issue with a premise, however, and that is that Obama himself chose to be President. I think, given the evidence, that it was chosen for him decades ago by people far more powerful than he.
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