Well, as fate would have it, our lucky President Obama has been given yet another opportunity to make a "mark" thanks to the hack liberal Democrat politicians led by former President Jimmy Carter's revelation that the overwhelming predominance of Obama's sinking support is a result of racism. Carter's statement that whites think that blacks do not have what it takes to be president is so divisive it's hard to believe an ex-president would utter the words. Frankly, my layman's knowledge of psychology tells me that President Carter's words reveal his own deeply ingrained bigoted personal feelings toward blacks, much like the exhibition of the moral superiority of a reformed smoker towards someone else currently smoking. But I digress. Back to president Obama's opportunity.
The nationwide contentious debate about racism could be stopped in its tracks if the President would behave like a leader and for a few minutes put the country ahead of his party. He needs only to separate himself long enough from his political agenda to give a speech on national prime time television for the purpose of stopping the disgraceful dialogue. President Obama must look into the TV camera and simply say:
"The current dialogue has no place in the political debates
that design America's course. We are better than this. Our
nation must have higher standards. Disagreeing with my
policy initiatives is not a reason to brand someone a racist.
There are blacks and whites in my own party who disagree
with me on certain issues but I don't believe for one minute
that the disagreements are racially motivated. That being
said, I expect the members of the Congress to realize they
are responsible for conducting the business of their office
with dignity."
The above is how leaders lead. They set the rules for their followers. If the leaders do not declare the standards, chaos ensues. America is on the verge of chaos. The American people need a hero, a leader, and President Obama must be the man. One can only hope he hears and responds to this opportunity to lead.
Albiwan..
Al, You are way to detailed for me to debate. I agree with many of your thoughts but see them coming from a different reality. You write as if the President acts alone. The politics of leadership are far more complicated then keeping some promises that you choose out of the 451 promises that he made during his run for the office. The President has been in office for 9.5 months. I can argue as can others from both sides that you can not turn a sinking ship around in 10 months. I can also argue that Bush 2 created this mess to clean up. I am sure that many on the right will say no it was Clinton 8 years earlier that created the mess. The bottom line is that it has been 10 months give the man and the formidable US machine a chance to achieve the promises made. I believe that he will eventually surprise...may not awe.... but will achieve great things for our country.
ReplyDeleteThe foundation of our economy is built on quick sand...The US operates successfully when we operate and buy with confidence. We do not really produce anything anymore so confidence is key. We don't have it and the two party system does not really foster it....lets look at that problem and try to fix it. ...I do not think that 50% of the people being happy with the leadership and 50% hating it will get us where we are wanting to go. The U.S. is an amazing country with freedoms beyond any other country. What is the price of that freedom. Should we continue to placate the poor to keep them quite? Should we continue to stamp out injustice all over the world to foster democracy and our way of life? Should we continue to explore the universe for the sake of science? The list goes on but one thing is constant. It costs a lot of money to do these things and I am not sure that our confidence built economy can sustain all of them. It is time that we figure out what it is we keep and what it is that we stop doing. Do not disregard the people that would rather have universal health care over military prowess. They come from a different place and may not see the world from our perspective. Does our social security system need to be equal? Are there people that should not get it? Is the maintenance of the park system more important then health care? Should we invest the money that we send to Israel and Egypt more important then rebuilding our infrastructure? Is Iraq ever going to pay us back?
And what about personal freedoms? We should not punish the responsible gun owner from the people that will purchase weapons with ill intent...The cost of freedom is that you have to give everyone the equal right to bear arms until they lose that right. What people do to lose that right is what makes some people want to abolish the right to bear arms. The cost to monitor these rights and to enforce the laws costs a lot of money. Public education
....healthcare....foreign aid...research...swine flu vaccine....SEC enforcement..... that we are already paying too much for the list goes on.....I do have one major issue with the current health care system in the us.....85% of a persons lifetime health care costs happen in the last two years of life. The vast majority of these people are elderly and paying through MEDICARE...why does the government have to pick up the tab on the most expensive portion of our life long health care bill and the insurance company's get a pass?
I rambled...I am not nearly as versed as you in the use of grammar or the detail of your pen but I wanted to put out a few of my thoughts as I commend you for you excellent writing skills and your obvious deep thought on the topics effecting our country today.
Ray, thanks for your very thoughtful comment. You and I have many of the same views especially the one that makes it important for us to listen to divergent opinions and approaches to thinking through sociopolitical issues. Your reaction to the blog, which was to defend President Obama, was one I was anticipating to elicit. I'd like to make it clear that the subtle message in the blog was not so much to trash the President as it was to shine a laser on political tactics that deceive the electorate. Devious political tactics, which the pols refer to as 'strategies', have probably been around long before man began to walk upright. Like most Americans, I had and still do have high hopes for Obama. He's my President. But as a wise man once said "it is what it is." And because I am not a victim of emotional blindness nor am I ignorant of political nuance I realize that Obama is on a path to becoming simply ordinary. And therein is my message and the use of Coach Lombardi's quote. "What the hell's going on out there?" is more of a plea for his players to think than it is an admonishment of their performance.
ReplyDeleteAlbie..aka Albiwan