February 17, 2014
A Destructive President
By Eileen F. Toplansky
President Barack Obama never admits to a mistake. Instead, egregious lawlessness is fluffed away as "not a smidgen of scandal" in relation to the IRS targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups. Instead of being a great leader, Obama distances himself and lets his appointees hide behind the law or simply exempt themselves from total disclosure. Thus, Lois Lerner can refuse to answer any questions or testify when she is brought before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Cindy Thomas, who was in charge of the IRS's Exempt Organization office and who illegally released confidential information about nine conservative organizations, can be promoted.
How else does Obama evade taking responsibility for his actions? Even though the president claimed he had no knowledge of the gun running program known as Fast and Furious, he claimed executive privilege. But one cannot assert executive privilege over documents that one has allegedly never seen. This is just one in the litany of obfuscations by Obama. And instead of taking responsibility for Fast and Furious, Obama falsely attributes the program to President Bush. Operation Fast and Furious began in October 2009, nine months after Obama took office. In fact, under President Bush there was a program known as Operation Wide Receiver, an "entirely separate program that implemented tactics in a profoundly different way;" furthermore, Operation Wide Receiver ended in 2007.
Of ObamaCare, the president simply refuses to acknowledge the irreparable harm to millions of Americans. As a result of the misnamed Affordable Care Act "a health care system that insured 85% of the nation" has now been decimated. People have lost the insurance they liked and could afford. Cancer patients, including a member of Congress, have lost access to their oncologists as well as their cancer treatment hospitals as a direct result of ObamaCare. One need only read David Limbaugh to understand the deep deception of Obama as he hurls the country headlong into this abyss known as ObamaCare.
Never owning up to errors that keep accumulating is clearly a mark of a leader who wishes to do harm to his country. When an individual has "strong personal accountability, he spends no time defending his actions, blaming others or trying to cover up problems." Instead, he will "spend all [his] time on finding solutions." Clearly, what with destroying relationships with allies, hosting White House dinner parties, playing golf, and going on numerous vacations, Obama has little time to consider, let alone aid Americans who are suffering. And, of course, he has to blame someone for the problems he has created. Because of these character flaws, Obama would not even pass the interview questions posted at this site that are used to gauge potential leadership qualities of a prospective employee.
Besides the extreme left-wing ideology that drives him, Obama is an example of overweening hubris and, thus, could never admire George Washington, "first in the hearts of his countrymen." David J. Bobb in his book titled Humility: An Unlikely Biography of America's Greatest Virtue demonstrates that "greatness and humility are not mutually exclusive." In fact, they need each other since "humility acts as the guardrail to greatness." This is a lesson Obama and his cronies have never and will never learn. But for Americans to regain our worthy place in the universe, we need to delineate and demand that our chosen leaders abandon "cocksure, supercilious, and narcissistic displays of arrogance" (4). Those in Congress on either side of the party divide cannot make laws that they do not have to abide by, e.g., ObamaCare.
In fact, the genuine humility exhibited by George Washington "requires that we admit when we are wrong and then change course." Obama and his czars and other appointees lack this one ingredient which is why they so nonchalantly trample Americans' rights and never admit that they have engaged in illegalities. Clearly, this president, by abusing executive privilege is engaged in dictatorial abuses. How many more unconstitutional acts can Americans expect from this man? Until the American people make him answerable for his deeds and his misfeasance, nonfeasance, and malfeasance, Obama will continue to be "puffed up with [his] own worth and seek greater power and recognition at the expense of others" (10).A leader needs to "rise and meet and defeat a challenge posed by an invidious foe" (25) but what does Obama do? He makes a deal that never sees the light of day as Hassan Rouhani gleefully tweets that Iran's "relationship w/the world is based on Iranian nation's interests. In the Geneva agreement world powers surrendered to Iranian nation's will." Obama meets with avowed enemies of America, installs them as advisors to the White House and bestows taxpayer money on them so they can perpetrate their animus against us and our allies. He appoints people who hint at invading Israel. While Churchill undertook to defeat the Nazis, Obama fervently embraces the jihadists.
Obama's lust for power is indicative of his not achieving good, but rather the appearance of it. And, "a prince can also pretend to be humble. But he should never lose the pride that is fueled by his ambition. The end, or goal, is power -- gaining it, retaining it, and passing it on" (42). Thus, Obama's incessant executive orders, his bypassing of Congress, his shredding of the Constitution, his indifference to America's ideals and her people are his modus operandi as he ascends to an imperial station.
During his office, George Washington certainly could have followed the "playbook of many previous dictators in claiming to speak and act on behalf of 'the people'" (60). Furthermore, by "operating the military 'on their behalf' by accumulating more and more power, Washington could have also assumed control of the federal treasury, thereby taking over the power of taxation so as to increase the protection of 'the people'" (60).
Our first president did not; he understood the proper boundaries. The same cannot be said for the 44th president. In fact, the aforementioned words aptly portray the actions of Obama as he dismisses American military might and wrests more and more power via the IRS, the NSA, and Agenda 21.
According to Bobb, in his copy of the Constitution, George Washington's only marginal notes are "those related to the powers of the president." Thus, Washington knew "that if the Constitutional Convention were to be successful, the nation would have to rely upon him less and upon the people more" (69).
And when George Washington quoted the Bible, it was "not political propaganda or a nod to civil religion but a reminder of duties he shared with his fellow citizens" (65). What a striking contrast to the 2009 Christmas White House tree that had one ornament containing the face of Mao Zedong.
Moreover, when Washington spoke, he expressed concern for future generations, whom he called the "unborn millions." Consider, however, how Obama, continues to saddle the "unborn millions" with onerous [COLOR=#11B000 !important]financial[/COLOR] burdens as America spirals towards $18 trillion dollars in debt.
Washington's career "established the American precedent that no person, including the president, is above the laws and the Constitution" (75). In this You Tube, Obama's deceptions are documented (in his own words) and highlight the stark contrast between these two presidents. Be it legend or otherwise, that cherry tree tale tells us that America's first president "could not tell a lie." What a quaint thought!
Historically, hubris has brought down many a dictator but not before great harm was done to the people. In Greek mythology, Nemesis, the goddess, "was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumbed to hubris (arrogance before the gods)." Thus, for the "ancient Greeks, hubris went before Nemesis" but unless we take to heart what President Washington said in 1789 to the Pennsylvania Legislature, we will continue to sink into Obama's despotism.
The virtue, moderation, and patriotism which marked the steps of the American People in framing, adopting, and thus far carrying into effect our present system of Government, has excited the admiration of Nations; and it only now remains for us to act up to those principles, which should characterize a free and enlightened People, that we may gain respect abroad and ensure happiness and safety to ourselves and to our posterity.We need to emulate the early Americans who feared the immense power of their leaders and gave trust to those freedom-loving leaders who truly earned it by their righteous deeds, not by their vacuous words and contemptible actions.
It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.
Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com
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