Perhaps his critics who view President Obama from the ankle down seemingly only see some 10% of the man. Mr. Obama came to national public attention at his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech.
[State Of The Union]
If America is ready to elect another mediocre President there are many contenders lining up to challenge Barack Obama, but to no avail because at this time in its history, this nation is lucky to have an intelligent, thoughtful, deliberative and level headed Chief Executive since Obama is aided by the best team of advisors a leader could have.
Such a view is reflected in the strides he has made to repair the multifaceted problems he inherited in just over two years of his administration amidst equally pressing worldwide challenges.
From the time of his emergence on the national stage, President Barack Obama has been the subject of criticism from right, left and center and this proves a leader can be criticized by people all the time. From the inception of his assuming the mantle of leadership of this great nation, Barack Obama has been the victim of personality attacks, policy attacks and even attacks on principles; that is, from the perspective of those leading the attacks.
Everyone is familiar with the pre-election attacks on his patriotism, experience, religious affiliation, “elitism,” even the perennial and nauseating attacks on his birth status designed to disqualify his right to hold the Presidency. Whatever happened to “Joe the Plumber” who coined the notion Obama was a sociality? He was last seen in a New York Post political cartoon being “flushed down the bowl” by Obama. Remember the claim Obama won’t know what to do as President when the “3:00 AM phone call comes.” That is not altogether correct, as is evidenced from his gutsy decision to take out bin laden! And since the World Clown Federation had their eyes on a “Trump Endorsement” we have to wonder whether the GOP may have a screw missing!
If we examine the attacks on his tenure and personality we see President Obama was criticized on the economy as the job market greatly hemorrhaged losing more than half a million jobs per month and because he had not instantly rectified the situation in less than two years that had taken more than a decade to create. The President was criticized for aiding Wall Street, the Automobile Industry, Banks, and his use of TARP and Stimulus Funds. He was severely criticized for the stubborn state of unemployment.
Meanwhile the “Birthers Movement” continued their “fools’ errand” challenging Mr. Obama’s citizenship while undermining the credibility of the Office of the Presidency and that of Hawaii State officials who certified Mr. Obama was born in that state. Put all the weight on the good mule meant Mr. Obama was also criticized for the housing crisis that resulted in massive home foreclosures, greatly reduced new housing starts and a tremendous decline in home value as well as the fall of lending giants including Fanny Mae.
Through all that turmoil, ignoring the misdirected rhetoric, President Obama went about his duty of improving America’s image abroad, laying the foundation for America’s resurgence as the world’s technological leader and sponsoring a new generation of clean air and clean energy resources to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. But even more, Mr. Obama emphasized education as a cornerstone of the future competitiveness of the nation.
Very early in his tenure, Mr. Obama passed the Fair Pay Act; helped in reducing crack from cocaine sentencing, and compensated Black Farmers. He also unveiled plans for upgrading the nation’s transportation system, emphasizing
the need for high speed transportation to be competitive with other nations who have active high speed systems. Completing this and utilizing “stimulus funds” the President began disbursing such dollars to repair roads, bridges, tunnels and ports.
Through all this, Mr. Obama demonstrated outstanding leadership that turned the tide despite the criticisms, threats, unduly caricature and Republican obstructionism. In addition, as Commander-in-Chief, Mr. Obama has had to prosecute two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while checking militants in Pakistan through drone attacks and the seemingly ubiquitous Al Qaeda movement. Further, he has had to be concerned about domestic terrorism, Mexican border violence, and sundries issues such as earthquakes, Somali pirates, tsunamis, radiation contamination, NASA’s space program and a whole lot more.
Some commentators have argued street protest to address social grievances pioneered by Blacks in this country, were taken over by the “Tea Party” movement and this tactic was instrumental in their successes in the 2010 mid-term elections. Now “in power” people begin to see the challenges posed to leadership and now their heads lie uneasily because of “Tea Party” proposed draconian methods that are not dissimilar to their initial attitude towards the now President Obama, in their coming together where he was characterized and caricatured in the most disrespectful and uncivil manner.
So much so, the public’s watch word to the “Tea Party” is now “wait till the next election,” when, like the proverbial “tea” you will be “thrown overboard.”
When President Obama made his early Address in Cairo he stressed the need for reforms by the Middle Eastern governments that should focus on the needs and aspirations of their people such as jobs, education, and freedom of
speech, right to peacefully assemble and to protest grievances. He was quick to point out these are among the pressing issues that lead to pessimism and attractive to terrorism. Seemingly none of the leaders paid attention and some two years later Tunisia and Egypt erupted in peaceful revolution forcing their leaders from power.
Perhaps his critics who view President Obama from the ankle down seemingly only see some 10% of the man. Mr. Obama came to national public attention at his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech. There, applauded for
a brilliant speech, he came with the highest American educational background that such intellectual brilliance resulted in his being elected President and the realization he had amassed millions of dollars and millions of followers through his Internet savvy database. Even from the time he ran for President, whenever faced with insufficient knowledge of any issue, Mr. Obama would “go to school” by consulting some of the most knowledgeable advisors on the particular issue.
Hence he gained a reputation for studying every issue before making his considered judgment and decision. It is arguable such an approach enabled the turnaround of national conditions. We see his imprint in reforms in the financial system through new federal regulations; albeit Wall Street and the banks are stronger; strengthened, they’re making
and disbursing money; unemployment has decreased through job creation by public and private hiring as the unemployment rate has begun to drop; new housing starts are up, foreclosures are down, and houses are regaining some of their lost value; the domestic automobile industry, particularly General Motors, Chrysler and especially Ford Motors are more competitive and holding their own in market share, particularly because of loans made to the
former two giants.
Questions as to how far the Republicans and their “Tea Party” allies will go are tied to their repeat success at the next, general or Presidential Elections. In a hopeful boast Newt Gingrich has predicted the Health Care Reform will be repealed in 2013, the first year of the next Federal Administration, which he hopes to lead.
While opinions varied on the President’s response to unfolding events in Egypt the customary criticisms were forthcoming as expected, despite his proper handling, as some have said, of this issue. Two of the most vocal
critics were Senators Lieberman and McCain, particularly from their “vantage point on a trip to Jerusalem.” Still, John McCain did give President Obama some credit for handling the situation in Egypt. However, and conversely, as
events in Libya unfolded, Senator McCain appeared on Candy Crowley’s Sunday morning program State of the Union and she asked him a pointedly political question, “Did the President wait too long on Libya?” as this was
certainly political. To which McCain said “Yes.” However, she did not ask the same question of other guests who would have given a more favorable response regarding Mr. Obama’s response to Libya.
Next Santorum, Romney, Pawlenty, Palin, etc. potential Republican presidential candidates expressed vocal criticisms about Mr. Obama’s actions in this matter. Jockeying for favorable status to challenge Mr. Obama, their criticism were expected. Next, John Conyers and Dennis Cucinich, Democrats, joined the chorus. All this goes to show, criticism can be the order of the day.
As events in Libya unfolded, Mr. Obama was again criticized as not acting fast enough. Take the horrible situation created by the earthquake in Japan. Even though Mr. Obama would have liked to rush assistance to Japan, he had to wait until the Japanese government asked for such aid. With Libya he had to move cautiously and by the time of the Arab League’s appeal, he was then able to move swiftly in an action that was not readily apparent, yet the criticisms poured in.
However, unknown to many Mr. Obama had dispatched military elements that had been in contact with the “Rebels” in Libya, indicating in fact he “did not wait too long on Libya.” All this goes to show, Mr. Obama did not have to ask permission of Republicans who would have rightly exploited the fact he needs their insights to act decisively. However,
Mr. Obama is still an excellent example of American Presidential leadership and seems unbeatable for the election in 2012.
“Speaking Truth To Empower.”