Gulf Oil Spill – Obama Leadership
Pre Oval Office Address Notes:
Obama to speak from the Oval Office tonight as he starts to rehabilitate his popularity over this Gulf Oil Spill fiasco. Watch for him to say that the buck stops with him and that he takes full responsibility but that the spill & failures with the fix & clean up were someone else's fault - (i.e.) BP, the Bush Administration, Congress, the agencies within government populated with Bush appointees that failed to properly regulate etc.
Interestingly, there is a Poll out today that indicates that a majority of Americans prefer Hillary over Obama as President.
Former Federal Judge Napolitano calls Obama's rumored actions trying to force BP to create a multi-billion dollar escrow account to compensate the victims of the Spill close to dictatorial as there is no legal basis for such an action.
Lots of irritated people out there right now. If ever there was a time for a strong leader it is now - however, it is also at times like this that the atmosphere encourages fascists, dictators and charismatic movements. The masses look for an easy answer to their problems, willingly hand over control to a central authority in exchange for a dilution of their civil liberties. Watch for a rise of McCarthy style hearings in DC looking for someone or something to be responsible for the current problems & decline. First victims will be people of foreign extraction - Hispanics, Muslims etc.
Post Oval Office Address Notes:
Eugene Robinson is very liberal, black & an Obama apologist yet he too is asking the same questions we all have on our minds. This is why I believe that this will define Obama's tenure & currently exposes his inadequacies. Those that support him need to mete out some tough love otherwise he will charm his way into failure. Time for substance not his normal pompousness. His first step to recovery is to admit he is out of his depth and requires help in leading the country properly. Audacity is required not more of his arrogance.
He is pompous & he is a pseudo-intellectual; he has received breaks his entire life & no need to place the blame on previous Administrations as he has been President for almost 1/2 of his 1st term.Like almost every President that has preceded him (except maybe Lincoln & Washington) he is just another guy. The dangerous part is that he doesn't seem to recognize that fact because he has been permitted to get by on charm and personalityhis entire career - from his days at Occidental College right through to Harvard; he has never actually accomplished anything. He has extraordinary charm and is able to get people to sympathize with him while at the same time overlooking his lack of credentials and qualifications. His "intelligence" is his ability to be all things to all people & reiterate information he has been fed. Where is the original thought, the development of something unique & effective. Other than 2 ghost-written books what original material, paper, thesis, thought, idea has he actually generated.
It is important that people see that the emperor has no clothes. It is only then that he can start being himself (whatever that is) and grow into the Office. He is the President of the USA, he has a tremendous burden & responsibility and the USA as well as the world relies upon him & his Administration doing the right thing for everyone. He no longer is a Democrat, a partisan, a community organizer, or merely the 1st Black President of the USA - he actually is the leader of the free world at a time when the economy is on shambles (everywhere), where there is strife around the world, where there are environmental disasters happening right in his own back yard - this isn't a game anymore, there is too much at stake, even if he is the smartest guy in the world it actually doesn't matter if he doesn't start actually leading & effecting solutions.
Those that continue to apologize for him or spew the nonsense about how he is so wonderful & smart do him an injustice. He needs feedback that drives him to fulfill his potential and quite possibly his destiny. Blindly accepting as fact information from his public relations machine will be self destructive - we all have a dog in this fight & it is in all of our best interests that he start performing as an effective leader.
One needs to objectively observe this mere mortal & help him help the USA and the rest of the world. Like it or not he occupies the most powerful office on the globe and what he does or doesn't do has consequences. I prefer that he succeed and am willing to do whatever is necessary to assist in that regard. Continually pandering to him does us all a great disservice - including him.
Those that accuse his critics of conducting a personal vendetta are mistaken as I merely state that based on the evidence and performance to date he isn't a good leader and that he seems incompetent. This is based on his track record to date. He has shown that he is not up to the task at hand. There is still time if he takes off the blinders. I am sure that he is a very personable individual & probably the most popular person in any room he is in - but, the last time I checked that isn't necessarily the #1 qualification for being President of the United States.
Obama’s followers’ blind devotion to dogma as opposed to an open mind capable of assessing him objectively is my paramount concern. What benefit is it to Obama to have sycophants constantly telling him how great he is when in fact what he needs is constructive criticism.
If I am wrong what harm has been caused? All I would have done is motivate the most extraordinary person on the globe to lead the world to a better place. If I am wrong we all win. However, if I am right - what then? who loses? Is it that difficult for the best & brightest man in the world to prove me wrong? If I am right there are many losers. Is the most intelligent man in the world so thin skinned that criticism from someone like me or anyone for that matter will throw him off his game and distract him from the issues at hand?
There is an election coming soon. Again, as in all elections recently, the best & the brightest will be on the sidelines & we will have to choose from amongst career political hacks. Where are the leaders, innovators, revolutionaries? Until recently they have been on Wall Street, Redmond WA, Silicon Valley etc. They sure haven't been seen anywhere near Washington DC.
Unfortunately the Obama supporters find themselves less and less pointing to his abilities, leadership & accomplishments as the basis for his deserving our vote. Rather they point to the potential alternatives (i.e. Sarah Palin) as if it would be better to support Obama as the lesser of 2 evils. Why can't we instead actually strive for a leader that is the best.
By the way, I am not a particularly strident Palin supporter except to say that - she is only the 2nd woman in history to run for the 2nd most powerful office in the world. As a man that was a supporter of the feminist movement I am thrilled that we have evolved to the point that now each of the major political parties in the USA have deemed it appropriate, not radical, to nominate a female to that position. I guess the fact that avowed feminists around the world feel comfortable criticizing her as much as they would criticize a man is evidence that the feminist movement is now mainstream.
Obama followers say they are insulted by the comment that people shouldn't blindly follow Obama or any other leader? Yet they typically state: "I maintain and you will never convince me otherwise, that Obama is an extraordinary mind and man, and that time may prove you all wrong." How many other people in history received such accolades and then were proven through factual determination to be otherwise. What could possible make Obama immune from such a determination after sober analysis? Are they not open to the mere possibility that they could be wrong? Is that not blind devotion to dogma? These people have better minds than that – they should not insult themselves.
Whether he is the "brightest and best" or "most intelligent man in the world" is moot (although I am heartened to see that many are apparently beginning to not subscribe to that particular dicta). What would be a response to my scenario? What is the harm if I am wrong? What is the harm if I am right? This seems like a sure bet - if I am wrong we all win; if I am right there are losers. Where's the harm in holding his feet to the fire and demanding performance? It is the only way to assure that there are no losers & the stakes have never been higher.
Many say the USA is ungovernable and as to the Presidency: “Who would want the job?” Well, apparently most of the dangerous ego maniacs currently populating the USA. Where is it best for the globe that we have the best & the brightest sitting on the bench while the 2nd, 3rd & 4th stringers play the most important game in our lifetime?
My concerns are that the man that currently occupies the most powerful office in the world is not up to the task. Those that raise the issue of Sarah Palin are bringing something to the table that is not pertinent to that discussion. As we speak, who is more potentially dangerous? Sarah Palin, a private citizen, or a President that isn't effectively performing his duties?
Let's keep our eye on the ball.
There is no vitriol dripping from my pen - there is no more fervent supporter of the President of the United States than me; no one wants him to succeed more than me. However, wishing & hoping isn't getting it done. All I have to offer him to assist in his task at hand is constructive criticism & a sense of reality. Would I tell my child that she is doing a great job & to keep it up if she was achieving failing grades in school? Have I not been clear in this?
The issue is whether the current President of the United States is up to the task at hand. The almost universal opinion of informed commentators across the political spectrum is that it is worthy of an honest & open discussion.
Now, on the other hand, individual apologists defense efforts are not without precedent as it is the strategy of those that do not wish to analyze the Obama Presidency to try and obfuscate & distract.
Even the usually Obama supporting New York Times Editors are skeptical after the Oval Office speech. Basically saying words are cheap currency; action & results are required. Rumors of a $20 Billion Escrow Fund will make many happy that something is being done. Others will question the legality of that action.
The video from Countdown on MSNBC after the Oval Office speech was heavily critical. Bear in mind that the 3 commentators from the program (Keith Obermann, Howard Fineman and Chris Matthews) have been the most strident voices for the left and till recently they were in absolute lock step with Obama. In effect they are the anti-Fox News.
Additionally the satiric commentary from Jon Stewart on The Daily Show was hilarious and dangerously on point. Especially the clip going back 8 previous Administrations showing the same messages being foisted on the American public.
I agree with all of them in this instance 100%.
This again speaks to my point that this is a crucial time in the Obama Presidency. Clearly he has no support from the Right. Now he has rallied the Left against him. He can solve all of this by demonstrating leadership.
Today's announcement re: the BP Escrow Fund will help. But, we will need to know more about the terms that will govern the administration of this fund.
This is a critical time & even countries other than the USA will be impacted. There needs to be some attention given this growing problem (i.e. - leadership vacuum) as we all will be paying a very dear price.
I don't mean to open another vitriolic conversation but rather I mean this as a call to action - he must be coerced into taking a leadership role. That is the message from all parts of the political spectrum.
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