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10 Reasons Why Obama's Is The Most Failed Presidency In Modern Times
Posted By Chris Queen On September 19, 2010 @ 9:00 am In Big Government,Email,Feature,Obama, Barack,Politics | 1 Comment
On November 2008, Barack Obama was elected 44th President of the United States. His election was a truly historic moment, not only because he was the first African-American elected to the nation's highest office, but also because Obama promised so much during the campaign.
Obama promised to be a post-partisan, post racial president. He promised hope, change, and a new era of transparency. Obama and his supporters insisted that he was entirely qualified to lead the country, despite his lack of leadership experience and the vague substance of his campaign promises. His entire campaign was based on the idea that he was completely different from anyone who served in the Oval Office before.
The reality is that the Obama presidency has fallen far short of the high expectations. In generally every area, the new administration has failed to deliver on its lofty promises. Obama has proven himself to be quite tone deaf to the needs — and will — of the American electorate. Never before have arrogance and inexperience converged in such a way as they have in the White House since January 2009.
With that said, here are 10 reasons why Obama's is the most failed presidency in modern times.
Associations With Less-Than-Savory People
Barack Obama has had a long history of associating himself with people on the wrong side of either the law or ethics. Among those are his associations with radicals of different eras. He has maintained a friendship with unrepentant domestic terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn for many years. He was a disciple of radical Saul Alinsky – so much so that Obama chose his college friends to fit the Alinsky model. Another radical, this time Muslim activist Dr. Khalid Al-Mansour, helped Obama get into Harvard Law School. And let's not forget his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in whose church Barack and Michelle Obama sat for over two decades. The president's associations with radicals such as these do little to help Obama paint himself as a moderate member of the Left.
President Obama's poor choice of associates extends to the choice of some scandal-plagued people for key positions in his administration. Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was Obama's choice for Secretary of Commerce until he resigned in the midst of a scandal involving his alleged exchange of state government contracts for contributions to his re-election campaign. Obama picked former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle for Secretary of Health and Human Services until a tax scandal derailed his chances. Another alleged tax cheat, Timothy Geithner, was confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury.
If a man's associations are indicative of his character, what are we to think about Obama's?
Too Many Vacations & Parties And Too Much Golf
In an economy in which many people are out of work, while others are forced to live on less money and forgo extras and luxuries, the Obamas have shown an utter disregard for the plight of the American people. The president and First Lady have enjoyed lavish vacations and thrown tony parties, and President Obama hasn't skimped on his golf game.
I couldn't find an exact count or list of the vacations the Obama family have taken since taking office, but this summer, the press coverage was wall-to-wall, with them taking trips to Panama City Beach, Bar Harbor, and Martha's Vineyard. Oh, and then there was, of course, Michelle Obama's infamous trip to Spain. Needless to say, many of the Right have been critical of Obama's vacation habits. One clever nickname given to Obama's tenure is the "Clark Griswold Presidency." (An interesting side note: while researching for this post, I had a difficult time finding lists of vacations, but I found plenty of leftist blogs and opinion pieces attempting to compare Obama's pricey trips to Bush's quiet vacations to his Texas ranch.)
In addition to their heavy vacation schedule, the Obamas have not let up on their White House entertaining in this economy. They have hosted elaborate Super Bowl Parties and events for lawmakers. For the first few months, the President and First Lady held an event every week on the White House grounds. One of the most notorious Obama parties was the state dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderón, which included a four course meal, an exquisite night-club-style tent on the South Lawn, and a performance by Beyoncé. Another glitzy party honoring Sir Paul McCartney came complete with performances by musical heavy-hitters and cheap shots at the expense of President Bush. All of this while Americans struggle to make ends meet.
Obama's fascination with golf has been come an issue of both consternation and derision. As of July, the president had played 41 rounds of golf, which averages out to more than one round two weeks. He took much heat for playing golf the day of the funeral for Polish President Lech Kaczynski. (To be fair, the Iceland volcano prevented him from flying to Europe to attend, yet Obama never visited or signed the guestbook at the Polish embassy.) Obama has also endured criticism for his multiple golf outings during the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. No word on whether his handicap has dropped along with his approval ratings.
Dependence On The Teleprompter
Much has been made about President Obama's rhetorical skills. Sympathetic media outlets have hailed him as an exemplary communicator, but, while he is a good speaker, he doesn't quite possess the silver tongue the mainstream media claims he has.
Obama is notorious for using a teleprompter during his speeches. Obviously this isn't unusual at all, as presidents have used teleprompters as long as they've been available. However, this particular president may rely too much on his teleprompter, and it has become a source of ridicule across the country.
One clever blogger has set up a blog from the point of view of the President's teleprompter. Another blog seeks to monitor Obama's teleprompter bloopers, going so far as to call him the "Teleprompter President." Less than hostile media outlets like The Onion, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and even Hardball With Chris Matthews have either made fun of or chastised Obama for his teleprompter overuse.
Is Obama not the orator we're supposed to believe he is? Is he too dependent on the teleprompter? I'll let the videos speak for themselves:
Too Many Apologies
President Obama seems obsessed with what he thinks of as repairing the image of the United States on the world stage. He has gone out of his way to try to make amends for past American foreign policy, especially throughout 2009 when he seemed regularly to make speeches apologizing for America's sins. Bloggers, pundits, and members of the media on the Right have come to dub this Obama's Apology Tour. Of course, the folks at Media Matters for America have balked at the notion that their secular messiah is apologizing, but here's just a sample:
Mr. Obama told the French (the French!) that America "has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive" toward Europe. In Prague, he said America has "a moral responsibility to act" on arms control because only the U.S. had "used a nuclear weapon." In London, he said that decisions about the world financial system were no longer made by "just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy" — as if that were a bad thing. And in Latin America, he said the U.S. had not "pursued and sustained engagement with our neighbors" because we "failed to see that our own progress is tied directly to progress throughout the Americas."
Obama infamously bowed in deference to Japan's Emperor Akihito. He refused to allow the U.S. flag to fly over sites in Haiti during early relief efforts there. He made a famous speech in Egypt in which he promised a "new beginning…based on mutual interest and mutual respect…"
Statesmen in the past have demurred from criticizing past American policy, even when they disagreed with it. Obama has taken a much different course, and it's part of the changes that have helped lead to his unpopularity and failure as president.
Placing Blame Instead Of Taking Responsibility
One recurring theme of the Obama administration is "blame Bush," or as Obama likes to put it, "the last eight years." Obama loves to lay the blame for the current economic crisis at the feet of the Bush administration, as if he's in some sort of perpetual campaign mode and Bush is the opponent. It's an odd strategy for a president who, in his inaugural address, promised:
…an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.
Of course, the reason for the mess the economy is in is a complex one, and if anyone is to blame, it's an array of people on both sides of the political spectrum. Yet Obama continually sees fit to play a blame game, as though attributing the blame will make the crisis go away. His rhetoric is a smokescreen to obscure his administration's clueless economic policy and inaction beyond massive spending bills.
Another area in which President Obama has famously blamed Bush for calamity is the Gulf Coast oil spill. Ironically, in one speech he indirectly blamed Bush right after condemning BP and others involved in the catastrophe for pointing fingers at each other. Obama fired shots at the Bush administration while dragging his feet on an active response to the spill, a lackadaisical response even the New York Times noticed.
The American people expect their president to take responsibility for the problems and issues the country faces. Obama has instead chosen to blame President Bush for some key issues during his time in office, a course of action that smacks of both disrespect and desperation.
The Czars
President Obama has an abnormally large circle of "czars," or appointed advisors, in his administration. Appointing czars isn't unusual, as past presidents have had czars of their own. Obama, however, outdoes all his predecessors. He has not one, not two, but 35 of them, 24 of whom are in positions created specifically by the Obama administration. Obama's czars cover a wide range of areas, including executive pay, the California water crisis, "climate change," and sexual assault and domestic violence issues.
Because the czars are appointed directly by the president, they do not require congressional approval, and they are not accountable to anyone put the president. Many of them also report directly to the president. Again, Obama isn't doing anything unusual in principle, but the sheer number and scope of his czars is unprecedented. Many of Obama's czars are from the academic ranks and have little practical experience. What's worse is that many of Obama's czars have some seriously scary Leftist credentials, including:
• Van Jones, "Green Jobs Czar" from March-September 2009, a communist who produced an album by cop killer and leftist cause célèbre Mumia Abu Jamal.
• Cass Sunstein, Regulatory Czar, who believes in devoting greater powers to the presidency and devoting government funding for abortions.
• John Holdren, Science Czar, whose views go hand in hand with his former colleague, the population and ecological alarmist Paul Ehrlich.
• Elizabeth Warren, upcoming Consumer Czar, who is called the "left-wing patron saint of so-called consumer protection."
• Donald Berwick, Health Czar, who said:
"Excellent health care is by definition redistributional." He used this favorite Obama term in the context of praising Britain's socialized medicine system as "a global treasure" and "I love it."
Obama has been under fire from both sides of the aisle for having too many czars. The late Robert Byrd (yes, the senator for whom half of West Virginia is named) said of the czars, "[t]he accumulation of power by White House staff can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances." The American people should take care to learn about Obama's czars and the frightening views some of them hold. Their ideas and policies could lead to more than the failure of Obama's presidency.
Obama's Obsession With Islam
President Obama has had a strange habit of seeming to placate Muslims. It's been an issue since the 2008 campaign, in which Obama's Islamic heritage was discussed heavily. For what it's worth, Obama claims he has never been a Muslim and that he is a Christian. Nevertheless, his seeming obsession with Islam is discomfiting to many Americans.
Obama has gone out of his way to revise history, painting Islam as a peaceful, mainstream religion that is concerned with human dignity and rights. His infamous Egypt speech was full of references to the supposed benign nature of Islam. In his 2010 Ramadan message, Obama said that "Islam has always been part of America," rewriting history in a bizarre way.
Some of Obama's actions have engendered reactions ranging from outrage to ridicule. In April 2009, the president bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, causing a firestorm of controversy and speculation of his motives. In 2010, NASA chief Charles Bolden reported that Obama asked him
…to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science … and math and engineering…
Needless to say, Bolden's statement elicited laughter among the outrage.
Most recently, Obama's handling of the Ground Zero Mosque controversy has left him looking flat-footed and awkward as well. The president came under fire for seeming to voice support for the mosque while speaking at a Ramadan dinner. In clarifying his remarks, Obama seemed to turn toward a more philosophical discussion of rights while apparently ignoring the fact that the majority of Americans oppose building the mosque.
Out-Of-Control Spending
President Obama has revealed his true colors in his approach to this economy. He is a clear cut devotee of Keynesian economics – most specifically the notion that governments should engage in deficit spending during a slow economy in efforts to stabilize it. The fact that the economy has improved little to none despite the government's spending hand over fist proves the myth of Keynesian economics and another failure of the Obama presidency.
Under Obama's watch, federal spending has increased to nearly a quarter of GDP for the United States. That's right: nearly one fourth of our economy is government spending! The federal budget deficit alone was nearly 10% of GDP in 2009, a post-World War II record. Obama shows no sign of letting up.
The Obama spending era began in earnest with the $862 billion dollar economic stimulus package, which was loaded with pork and contained some questionable expenditures. Congress passed a nearly $1 trillion dollar health care bill under Obama's watch, and the spending has kept going since. The president has proposed bank bailouts, "cash for clunkers," infrastructure spending, and even a new jobs bill that has been viewed as the equivalent of a second stimulus package.
With all this spending, the unemployment rate has hovered near 10%, and it seems like every sign of good economic news is balanced by bad news. In August, one poll showed that 61% of respondents thought that the economy has either stayed the same or gotten worse under Obama. Senate Democrats have even rebelled against some of their own party's leader's spending wishes.
So, why does Obama keep spending? I think the answer is that he doesn't have any other economic policy. Clearly, the economy has faltered, if not failed, under Obama.
The Gulf Coast Oil Spill: "Obama's Katrina"
On April 20, British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank into the Gulf of Mexico, causing a large oil leak into the Gulf. The incident created a situation that was an environmental catastrophe, a public relations nightmare for BP, and an unspeakably horrific tragedy for the families of the 11 employees who died in the explosion. President Obama's response was a delayed and characteristically tone deaf one. The disaster has come to be called "Obama's Katrina," though naturally there have plenty of efforts on the Left to debunk that appellation.
Obama waited over a week from the time of the explosion to begin to address it. In response to the spill, Obama has done some strange things, some of which have added to the criticism he has received. Obama declared a moratorium on offshore deepwater oil drilling, a move which could potentially cost tens of thousands of jobs and damage the economy of the Gulf Coast. Obama demanded that BP set up a $20 billion escrow account to cover the costs of damages from the spill, rather than allowing BP to respond their own way (which could have repaired some of BP's public relations damage).
Even Obama's attempts as public relations in the wake of the oil spill have fallen flat. In June, the president appeared on The Today Show, telling Matt Lauer he talked with fishermen and oil spill experts "so I know whose ass to kick." The statement was intended to make Obama appear tough and decisive, but it wound up causing him to look unpresidential and totally laughable. In August, the Obama family took a vacation to Panama City Beach, declaring the Gulf's beaches "open for business." The trouble is, despite Obama's well-intentioned effort to boost Gulf tourism, Panama City Beach is far from the area hardest hit by the oil spill.
The Gulf oil spill has been a shining example of Obama's inability to craft decisive, meaningful responses to issues. It has also been an example of what can go wrong when Obama attempts to rev up the public relations engine.
Obamacare
What many people will see as Obama's greatest failure as president, and what will certainly go down as his largest legacy, is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. Certainly, the blame falls equally on Democrats in both houses of Congress, but Obama made universal health care a focus of the first year of his presidency.
Obama began talking about health care reform as early as January 2007. In a speech to a health care advocacy group, he declare the following:
I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country.
The focus on a health care bill continued through the campaign and into 2009. Throughout 2009, opponents of universal health care became increasingly vocal. Town hall meetings were filled with impassioned voters, eager to express their opposition, and the Tea Party Movement really started to coalesce. The weekend the final bill was passed, a CNN poll showed 54% of those surveyed were opposed to the bill.
Despite the opposition, Obama and Congressional Democrats pressed on with the massive bills. They were so proud of their work that they convened special Sunday and Christmas Eve sessions to pass the bill when fewer people would be paying attention to current events.
Obama touted the bill as landmark legislation worth celebrating, but the true centerpiece of his first term is a $940 billion dollar package foisted on an electorate who largely do not want it. If that's not the epitome of failure, I don't know what is.
Barack Obama promised change. He offered a message of hope that resonated with millions, and that message swept him into office. It's been painfully clear that the actual change he has brought forth has been a drastic lurch to the Left that has resulted in economic, domestic, and foreign policy wrecks and nightmares of public perception. If Obama's presidency continues to fail as it has thus far, one can expect a different and welcome kind of change in 2012.
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Chris Queen is a freelance writer and communications consultant based in Covington, Georgia. Check out his non-political writing on his blog, Random Thoughts From The Revolution, and follow him on Twitter.
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