In one of his most unnerving comments yet, President Obama had this to say in a speech the other day: “But I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking.” The remarks were no doubt prompted by the increasingly vocal criticisms of the Democrats’ health care plan, particularly as manifested in various “town hall” meetings around the country between congressmen and their angry constituents.
There are a number of implicit assumptions in Obama’s comments that give cause for concern – indeed, that justify the fear and anger that is crystallizing into a genuine citizens’ revolt against the far-reaching attempts of the Democratic Party to vastly increase the power of the State. One is that everyone speaking out against Obama’s health care legislation is a rock-ribbed Republican, or under the sway of special interests (insurance companies are the favored villains); another is that Republicans are responsible for all of the economic ills in our society. Yet another assumption is that critics, who must be, ipso facto, Republicans, are therefore disqualified from being heard.
Even if the criticism of Obama Care were exclusively a function of Republican Party allegiance, Obama would still not be excused from his responsibility to take into consideration the concerns of tens of millions of his fellow citizens, notwithstanding their affiliation with the opposition party. His critics, however, are not by any means limited to registered Republicans; the obviousness of this fact thus makes his charges of partisanship absurd, a self-evident attempt to dishonestly pigeon-hole and isolate his detractors.
Thus, I ask the question that serves as the title of this post: is Obama President of all the people, or is he a mere factional war lord seeking to serve the narrow interests of his left-wing followers? As several writers have pointed out recently, Obama does not seem to really understand the office of the presidency - his main failure being his inability to comprehend that it is bigger and more important than he is.
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RACIST!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI Denounce You!!!!
(now where's that Gov website...)
Cheers
When he starts talking to the air while denouncing his own cabinet ministers while they're in the same room, a la Amin, then you can worry.
ReplyDeleteI figure September 3rd, tops.
"We won was not in the "We the People" vein I'm guessing."
ReplyDeleteBut,but,but he's post-partisan.
Paco, Obama is a socialist, as are the other Democrats. As socialists, they not only know best, they are the only ones who know the truth.
ReplyDeleteOpposition to their desires is simply ignorance, and therefore to be ignored. If it persists, this "ignorance" becomes "resistance" (to the good, of course).
Obama appears to be following the Chavez play-book.
Paco, this is precisely my worry. I lived in Chicago for 5 years, and that city is tightly controlled.....where the bosses want it controlled, that is.
ReplyDeleteLet no one fool you: the Chicago political machine exists to maintain power for a select group; I didn't much trust the elections. I was only a minor Federal bureaucrat, active in the Guard, and I was appalled at the level of corruption there.
Look at the city government: the mayor and aldermen get constant bodyguards from the police force. Why? Because they feel threatened (and probably are, Al Capone set the standards long ago). These people also get a slice of the city budget to run. They have, in effect, their own fiefdoms, complete with warriors. These politicians are generally not answerable to anyone, save outside agencies (e.g., the FBI). Yet crime is rampant in the city, as is poverty, as the politicians really don't care. This is the behavior of warlords.
The unions were really tight with the Democrat machine in Chicago. That's also true with the Obama Administration.
Like I said earlier, the mask is coming off. Obama was raised in Chicago politics. So was Rahm Emanuel, and a fair number of other high level personalities now in the White House. What we are seeing now is how politics are played in Chicago.
This was a big part of why I left Chicago, and a rather comfortable career with the feds and the Guard. The city is tainted. And now we are seeing that taint spread out across America.
So I think that we do have a liberal warlord in the White House.
But I'm not convinced that Obama is that warlord. Frankly, the man strikes me as being naive, narcissistic, and not a little ignorant. He's an empty suit. The decision to continue Predator attacks against Taliban strongholds in Pakistan is not in line with his spoken policies. That, among other things, leads me to believe that he's probably a figurehead for someone behind the throne.
If he *is* the warlord, he's a weak one, holding on to power because the Constitution remains intact. Torn a bit, but intact. *He* was elected. The Republic remains strong enough that replacing him with a choice other than what the Constitution requires is impossible.
But in any case, Obama should be President of all the people, but his heart is not in it. He's beholden to his nobility (read "elitists" in today's jargon), and not to the people. That's who got him into office, through the unions, ACORN, and other cronies. The people? Pffft!
And I think Obama does understand the office of the President; he just doesn't care (don't forget, Bill Ayers is Obama's bestest friend). His main problem is not any inability to comprehend the bigger picture. It's his inability to accept the possibility that people would actually oppose his programs....and succeed in their opposition. Else he and his minions would not be marching this country straight towards a citizen's revolt.
That wouldn't happen in Chicago; most would sigh and just go back to work. But this ain't Chicago. It's America.
There's a lot about America that Obama doesn't understand - that's because he's not really an American.
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not going off on some birth certificate fantasy, but Obama is a "citizen of the world," by his own admission. He doesn't really believe in America, as a nation of ideals that deserve to be spread, as a force for good, as an inspiration to those across the globe.
America exists, at present, solely as an instrument of his will. And in so executing his will, he shall do what he can to make us atone for our many sins against the world.
This is whom we elected. And no point in demurring that you personally voted for somebody else, or not at all. We're all along for the ride now. It's payback time for America, where the reckoning for the entire leftist litany of sins comes due.
To call him POTUS or a Liberal War Lord is perhaps giving him more credit than he is due, even if he holds the office of the former.
ReplyDeleteHe and his cronies are just Chicago thugs and American citizens are just their cash cow.
K
I use the expression "war lord" in the connotation of "bandit leader" or "gangster", i.e., the head of a large, aggressive group of people who are engaged in helping themselves to the fruits of other people's labor.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much the way I define "war lord" as well, Paco, although war lords tend to be regional, or "sub national" in nature. That's true of Obama in the political sense, though.
ReplyDeleteAlso, while Obama's control is not military in nature (i.e., DoD isn't his personal police force [and likely won't be]), he is using his own "army" of followers to carry out his orders (i.e., ACORN, SEIU, HCAN, etc). This is political in nature. For now, anyway.
What Obama is practicing is not quite feudalism (not yet, any way), and certainly not democracy. "War lord" is a fair compromise, especially in the way that you describe it.
Jeff: Looks like there might be some regional power issues involved, after all.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet, Paco. The lefties are ignoring the purpose of the US Senate, which is to balance the regional versus population.
ReplyDeleteMust be a real pesky thing to the lefties, that Constitution. Except as toilet paper.
It's exactly that kind of thing, Paco, among others, making me afraid that if Obama and Congress are able to ram through all their "hope and change", that will the end of the Constitution, and any hope of opposition, ever. We have believed for far too long that it can't happen here.
ReplyDeleteJeffS wrote: Also, while Obama's control is not military in nature (i.e., DoD isn't his personal police force [and likely won't be]), he is using his own "army" of followers to carry out his orders (i.e., ACORN, SEIU, HCAN, etc). This is political in nature. For now, anyway.
ReplyDeleteRemember The Gracchi..
Paco: Awarded part of your original posting SPOT-ON QUOTE OF THE DAY at:
http://www.thecampofthesaints.com/2009.08.09_arch.html#1249930233169
Thanks, Bob!
ReplyDeleteIf it persists, this "ignorance" becomes "resistance" (to the good, of course).and any hope of opposition, ever. We have believed for far too long that it can't happen here Cohiba Piramides.
ReplyDelete