I've been watching Obama with a fairly critical eye. No secret there. Something about this guy got under my skin from day one. While others swooned, I rolled my eyes.
But I did wonder what it was that caused reason to leave reasonable people when it came to Obama. What was I missing?
I might not have fifteen education specialties and twelve subspecialties, but I could see that what he wanted during his campaign was a basic dismantling of America as we know it and a rebuilding into some social experiment.
But he was cool. And who doesn't want to hang out with the cool kid? Who doesn't want to be picked to be on his team? Who doesn't want the cool kid to nod in his direction and smile?
But Obama, it turns out, isn't so cool. And I'm not just talking about his 'mom' jeans, and terms like 'wee wee'd up'. Despite protestations to the contrary, he comes off like a guy who's lived a charmed life. Grandma protected and adored him. He threw her under the bus when it became necessary to establish himself as the 'Black' candidate. He hooked up with Reverend Wright to get his street credentials in Chicago, but threw him under the bus to court favor with his more moderate independent voters. And threw those voters under the bus days after he got into office.
This was a boy wonder. How many times do you think anyone said 'no' to him? How many times do you think he had to take responsibility for anything? Even during his campaign, only one network in any way held his feet to the fire and attempted to investigate his life. Fox News.
Who else could have gotten away with drug use and non-disclosure of academic records and school financing? Who else could have gotten away with having such shady characters in his life and being questioned about it on only one network - a network he feared so much he appeared on it only twice during the entirety of his campaign and not once since. Fox News is the only network that even attempted to do any investigative journalism.
This man was running for the highest office in the world, and he was given a free pass by the American media.
I guess I'd be cocky, too.
But now we're seeing the results of that free pass.
I had come to object to the rigorous campaign process because I thought a person had to be almost superhuman to get through it. Everyone's life gets checked with a magnifying glass. No stone is left unturned. Grueling interviews and vetting by the press and by the public.
Now I understand its value.
I understand it because we have a president who wasn't vetted by the media - who, on the contrary, had the majority of the media on his side as a propagandist, and we're seeing the sorry results.
Nothing is his fault. He has no idea how to take the blame, but is practiced at deflecting it. Need a cheap laugh? Seven months out from the election, let's take yet another shot at Sarah Palin. His audience, hand picked for the television cameras, giggles on cue.
He's a master of mocking. His comedic timing during his sarcastic riffs on former President Bush, town hall protesters, John McCain, and Republicans rivals John Stewart on The Daily Show. And after watching the intellectually dishonest selective editing on The Daily show which has become more and more like Keith Obermann without the jokes, one has to wonder where Obama is getting his material.
This man whom everyone thought was so cool; who is so full of himself that he publicly refers to his own mojo - has no idea how to be dignified. He went into that office with no clue what it meant to be President of the United States. The problem for us as a country is that he doesn't seem to be on a learning curve. On the contrary, his constant whining and failure to take responsibility for anything; his ingrained need to be constantly on the attack against what he considers even the slightest criticism - is an embarrassment.
So, as Obama would say, let's be clear. Cool isn't about the way you walk; the way you talk; the way a suit hangs on a lanky frame or the way you shoot hoops.
Cool is treating people with respect; being a person of character; taking responsibility when you screw up and even when other people screw up if you're the man in charge. Cool is not taking cheap shots at others expense.
Cool is when you stop listening to all of those people patting you on the back and telling you how great you are and start wondering why your numbers are slipping so badly.
It isn't some great conspiracy. People are catching on. There isn't much under that well-hung suit.
A little introspection might do you some good. And stop blaming other people for the mess you've made of your presidency. I'm sick of it. So are a lot of people.
Grow up. You're the President of the United States of America. Start acting like it.
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