Two years is more than enough, in fact it is far too much.
Democrats must immediately begin a search for a candidate in the 2012 elections
to challenge Barack Obama. Even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how
very, very poorly this man would perform as president. How this president could
succeed in alienating almost all elements of the America electorate in such a short
time is difficult to fathom; until we consider his style of leadership -"
virtually nonexistent.
Without a doubt the Republicans hate him, in fact, they
despise him but that is understandable because he's a Democrat. But how he has
managed to lose much of the support of the liberal and progressive wings of the
party, plus such a large portion of the independent voters, is simply
astounding. The only part of his former constituency that still backs him is
the center/right leaning elements of the party.
This is a man who, when he entered the presidency, had a
brilliant opportunity to redirect America from the disastrous course
that it had taken under the most incompetent president in modern history, G. W.
Bush. The country was ripe for dramatic change, the American people were
confident that this man would turn out to be one of the greatest presidents in
history; he had that potential.
But, since then, what has happened? Well, to be quite blunt
about it he completely blew this fantastic opportunity; he failed the American
people and this nation. He has proven that he is not up to the job, that he
does not have the courage and conviction to provide the kind of selfless,
fearless leadership that this nation needs so very badly.
In just two years, he has dashed the hopes of millions upon
millions of Americans who supported and voted for him, myself included. Most of
us are still in a state of shock and disbelief as we contemplate what might
have been and now will never be -" at least during his presidency. So, let's
detail the specifics of his many failings. It's a long list.
Heath care reform should never have been priority #1, it
should have been jobs. Regardless, he managed health care reform like a rank
amateur, totally caving in to the GOP and the blue dog Democrats on almost
every issue. He made back room deals with the insurance industry and Big Pharma
and refused to fight for the public option, the most critical element of health
reform; one that could have easily been added through the Reconciliation
process that only requires a simple majority to pass legislation.
On the financial reform legislation, his management of the
issue and his involvement was pathetic. Once again, he caved in to the usual
opposition and refused to fight for concrete, meaningful legislation that would
guarantee that Wall Street and the banking industry could never again bring America to the
brink of economic disaster and necessitate future bailouts. The result was a
heavily watered down bill that does not address the "too big to fail" issue.
The list of failure and caving in is endless. Closing Guantanamo never materialized;
there are no investigations of the crooks and clever manipulators who brought
on the economic crisis, no investigations into torture by water boarding, and
no investigations into the events that led to the Iraq War. We have a gagged,
passive Justice Department whose slogan is, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak
no evil"; no real intent to perform the functions of this very important
judicial arm of the government. President Obama has no taste for any
investigations of the Bush/Cheney administration.
Now let's turn to Obama's WAR, the issue that will
eventually become the lasting legacy of his presidency. His actions and
decisions with regard to America's
foreign policy are astounding and incomprehensible. He has, at every turn, caved
in to the military and has escalated the deployment of troops several times. He
set a timetable for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan to begin in July 2011.
Without any shame whatsoever, he is now in the process of caving in once more on
resetting the timetable to 2014 or even beyond.
He is allowing the military to conduct constant remote
controlled drone strikes in Afghanistan
and Pakistan
in numbers that far exceed those of Bush. These deadly strikes, while killing
many of the "enemy" have killed just as many or more innocent civilians. Is
this the way that America
now fights its wars? Does Mr. Obama sleep well at night?
The U.S. military,
with the usual concurrence of President Obama, is making it known that troops
will remain in Iraq and Afghanistan indefinitely, extending the empire that now
includes almost every part of the world, including the UK, Germany, Spain,
Italy, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Guam; over 60 nations in total. The
costs of sustaining this network of bases are unsustainable but, then again, does
anyone in this administration really care?
Israel
and Prime Minister Netanyahu are making a fool out of this president as they
continue to defy him and dare him to stop their building of new settlements. I
read a news report that Hillary Clinton was offering Israel 20 advanced F35 fighter jets
in exchange for a one-time 90-day settlement freeze. And in a further insult,
Mr. Netanyahu was said to have asked that the offer be put in writing. What a
slap in the face of this president and America.
America's infrastructure is falling apart, our economy is
tanking, there is no job creation program of any kind, many of our states are
approaching bankruptcy and are laying off thousands of teachers, police, and firefighters,
together with drastic reductions in funding for state agencies, schools and
colleges. All these severe problems desperately need the infusion of billions
upon billions of taxpayer dollars but the money is allocated for fueling
perpetual war.
Here is the final argument why Barack Obama does not deserve
a second term; why he does not deserve to even run again. What, if anything,
does he really stand for, what would it take for him to really fight for a
cause? This is a president who has clearly chosen war over the creation of jobs
and the rebuilding of the American economy and our national infrastructure. He
is simply not the man to lead America
into the future. America
deserves better.
Does anyone need any more proof that this president cannot
and will not be reelected in 2012? If the Democrat Party does not start now to
come up with a viable candidate to challenge him and defeat him in the
primaries, then they will be guaranteeing a massive landslide for the GOP. And
if anyone thinks that a Republican president backed by a Republican House and
Senate will not be an even bigger disaster for America then they need to think
again.
Where the Democratic Party might find a man or woman with
the courage, the vision, and the leadership, together with a solid base of
ethics and moral values, I have no idea. But find one it must. The key point is
that if the Democratic Party continues to play defense instead of offense, continues
to procrastinate, vacillate and let the elections of 2012 arrive with Barack
Obama as its candidate for president, then there is no hope and, certainly,
there will be no change forthcoming in America. And the downward spiral
will continue.
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