It’s difficult for me to sit by idly and allow President Obama to blather about his great successes. He’s responsible for many of the problems facing America today. His ideology and warped perspective of America has led us to a bad place, so bad that an inexperienced gunslinger that promises change won the White House.
Democrats were thrashed in the elections because of Obama’s policies and a promise by Hillary Clinton to continue them.
Obama is now a lame duck. Nothing he does from this point forward until he passes the mantle to Donald Trump will impact America. Frankly the only splash he can make at is to pardon felons that somehow share his beliefs or were disenfranchised by our legal system.
Obama’s loss of influence has been evident for most of his second term. Consider his contributions to the 2016 election. He and his wife vigorously campaigned for Clinton along with all of their show business friends. Nevertheless Clinton drowned in the Trump tsunami.
Obama has not been a team player since the election and has not made it easy for his replacement. At first he said he would assist Trump in the transition of power. Then he flew to Asia on his 747 on a final world tour and proceeded to lambaste the president-elect. Obama’s principal goal was to convince other world leaders that he was a successful president with a great legacy and to encourage them not to support Trump.
Rather than rehashing a very long laundry list of missteps by Obama, here is an abridged version.
- Obama did very little to improve the lives of African Americans. Given that he is the first black man to be president most Americans hoped he would focus on the plight of this group. The failure to do so is evident all across the country. Welfare rolls have never been greater. More blacks are out of work now than when the administration took power. Race relations have degraded. Every time a police officer has a fatal encounter with a black person, riots ensue regardless if the action was justified. In the meantime scores of African Americans are losing their lives in urban centers each year, a fact that is constantly swept under the rug.
- Obama did little to allay the problems of millennials. This group is poised to take control of our country during the next 20 years, but many are still living at home with their parents because they cannot find high paying jobs, delaying marriage, not having children and struggling with educational loans.
- The president has encouraged class warfare. In his eyes every 1%er is not paying his or her fair share and doesn’t give a damn about the well being of the needy. According to Obama, exceptionalism is bad for American society. He thinks capitalism should be abandoned for income redistribution.
- Obamacare cost several trillion dollars and yet it’s one of the greatest entitlement flops in American history. The concept of universal health care is a noble one, but the abomination created by Obama has not worked. For sure the neediest are now insured, a good thing. Expanding Medicaid could have accomplished this. Young people are being forced to buy insurance they don’t want, and they refuse to subsidize sick Americans. Coverage is declining. Choices are less. Premiums are higher.
- Obama endorsed a plan that enables Iran to build a nuclear weapon. Why would any leader give his mortal enemy (that cannot be trusted to live by the terms of an agreement) an opportunity to develop a weapon of mass destruction? The alternative course to dealing with Iran is to bankrupt it with or without the support of our allies. This is the same strategy that Reagan used to bring the Soviet Union to its knees.
- Obama has allowed the immigration problem in America to fester during his tenure. Now the country has no choice but to give millions of aliens an opportunity to become citizens. Why has this become a right of a group that has entered our country illegally? It would be impossible and inhumane to round up millions and deport them, so instead we are going to reward them with citizenship. Over the years Obama has encouraged, or ignored, the illegal actions of sanctuary cities, college and places of worship. Now many Americans are prepared to defy the will of the federal government creating a significant domestic issue. The cost of immigration missteps during the past eight years is incalculable and has diverted money from the needs of our citizens.
- The president has set back U.S. relations with the global community at least a decade. America stopped leading and living up to promises made to allies. Our country has become a paper tiger. Too many empty threats and unenforceable lines in the sand have given our enemies new strength. This has destabilized the world.
- One of the most egregious tactics of the Obama administration has been the unconstitutional use of presidential mandates that circumvent the role of Congress. Obama has effectively become the executive and legislative head of the country.
I say good riddance to a man who falsely gave us hope but did so little.