The Curious Case Of Barack Obama

   I remember when Barack Obama campaigned for the
highest office in our great land.  The idealistic young senator
from the great state of Illinois promised that he would end
business as usual in Washington.  Obama said that we would see
an end to the usual gridlock and partisan sniping that had become
the hallmark of presidential politics. Fast forward to late June
of 2011.  While millions of disabled Americans waited with
baited breath to see if the debt ceiling crisis would cost them
their monthly checks, our president was engaging in the very
same political sniping that he had promised to avoid.  Looking
at this whole debt ceiling as the true pessimist that I am, I see
now that the gentlemen from the land of Lincoln is in way over
his head.  Perhaps Washington has sapped Mister Obama of
his ability to prioritize in times of great stress.  To me,
a true leader ultimately picks their battles.  Yet,
Obama stubbornly wants to go it alone most
times.  That may work in Illinois but it will
not work in Washington.  A president who
can't compromise won't make many friends and
and a sitting president needs all the back up he can get;
especially if the house and senate have been redecorated
mostly red.  When outnumbered, a man in a precarious
position doesn't actively seek out conflict.  Yet there
was Obama, playing the spin game.  I'm not a Gop'er
per se, but how many times can he blame the Republicans
for the political gridlock?  It takes two to tango Mister
Obama and last I looked, the Democrats weren't
exactly a shining example of political efficiency
in their own right.  While the debt crisis has been
adverted, it should serve as a referendum on
Obama's overall capability as commander
in chief.  As much as I want to see Obama's
lofty ambitions prove his naysayers wrong, I
can't in good conscience urge the American
people to re-elect a sitting president who
simply doesn't get it.  At least, for now,
we won't have to endure another soundbite
about the evil GOP death star poisoning
liberty and justice and democracy and
whatever acts of malice Obama thinks
that they are ultimately responsible for.
Look inward Mister Obama, look inward.
Next time, you may not be lucky enough
to stumble your way past a fiscal crisis.