What does a prophet do when the people reject his message? On November 5th, Barack Obama took the pulpit and grimly delivered the same sermon he has since in the beginning, daring the infidels to defy him. It’s the only scripture he knows; he has no other verses to rely on.
Maybe Obama is for real in his own mind: He believed he was the One to heal the nations, lower the oceans, erase divisions between black and white, red and blue, and deliver a harmonious, transformed America. He famously told Congressional Democrats they’d have a stronger hand in political clashes, because “Now you have me.”
Obama’s revolutionary promises were doomed from the start because of us and because of him. For our part, political differences exist because Americans’ beliefs, values, and interests differ. No soothing speech can erase differences of view and purpose among millions of Americans. In any society where the people are heard, those differences manifest as political disagreement.
Even if there were a path toward a more harmonious nation, Obama was exactly the wrong man to blaze it. Most Americans have recognized the defining trait of Barack Obama: He is opposite of everything he vows.
The candidate said “no red states, no blue states, only United States.” Then, the president declared to minority Republicans offering input into the Stimulus--the biggest government expenditure in history--“Elections have consequences. I won.”
Candidate Obama promised to comb through the Federal budget line by line and eliminate outdated, ineffective programs. President Obama conspired with Harry Reid to refuse to pass budgets for four years, instead rolling over earlier budgets with a Continuing Resolution. This not only insulated existing programs, it locked in TAARP, Bush’s extraordinary Bailout Bill, intended as a one time desperation measure, into a permanent 20% structural increase of the federal budget.
The candidate promised the most transparent administration in history. The president gave us the most secretive, vindictive administration in history. Candidate Obama boasted of being a law instructor who respects the Constitution. President Obama has suffered an unprecedented string of unanimous rebukes by the Supreme Court for overreach in governing.
The candidate promised his health care bill would be drafted and negotiated on CSPAN. The president huddled with a few key players behind closed doors. Nancy Pelosi was famously giddy Americans had no idea what is in the bill.
In a cynical display for the ages, the candidate who promised hope and change, an end to politics as we know it, won reelection only with the gale force help of a media that assassinated his opponent with divisive and distractionary themes.
The devastating list is much longer. Obamais the most pervasive, incessant liar ever to occupy the Oval Office. He never did a thing that would “bring Americans together.” He consolidated power, centralized his rule, tightly controlled administration communications, and slandered and persecuted domestic critics.
Observant conservatives noted this poison almost immediately. Observant liberals didn’t care; they thrilled to their champion’s successes. Skeptical but trusting independents who consumed national news didn’t get anything like accountability from their president or the media.
For the first 5 years of this administration, consumers of old media saw only the Obama portrayed by the Big Pens and Big Hairs. He was Colossus between the columns, “a kind of god,” the bestower of “thrills up the leg,” the wearer of “perfectly creased slacks.”
Obama was weightless to the effects of missteps and scandals that would have knocked other presidents low. This isn’t because his skills were so superior but because his sins were so protected. If the media doesn’t chase Fast and Furious, green crony bankruptcies, foreign policy missteps, Benghazi failures, or IRS abuses, then the public won’t care and the president won’t suffer.It’s all just a tree falling in the political forest.
It would be one thing if the Authoritarian Transformer had made the trains run on time. But we came to learn, he’s not only abusive--he’s incompetent.
The tide began to turn when the president’s overreach and haplessness hit Americans in their homes where the media could not ignore or hide. Obamacare’s delayed website didn’t work. Insurance plans got cancelled by the millions, exposing the president’s deliberate lies. The Arab Spring quickly became the Middle East inferno. Syria laughed at Obama’s warnings and red lines, as did the mad scientists in Iran. Putin laughed, assaulted sovereign nations, and ate border regions for lunch.
These failures were too obvious and too big to be deflected. They couldn’t be dismissed with smooth denials read from the teleprompter, and nodding by a compliant press. Americans sensed they were being governed by the JV team, aided and abetted by the TV team. Opinion began to turn, then faster and harder until election day. The reversals were historic, the president repudiated.
What does a Transforming Earth Whisper do when the people stop listening? Barack Obama pretends to hear the mandate of the two thirds of eligible Americans who didn’t vote. With straight face and steely eyes, he announced a steady course. He welcomes Republican cooperation to get things done—his things.
Obama either believes himself and can’t fathom he’s been rejected, or he knows and will defy and bull ahead with every weapon at his disposal. This will get interesting.
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