Not My President, Part 4 of 50: It’s Always Somebody Else’s Fault

Big Burden for Big Shoulders

The President of the United States is, at every moment in time since June 6, 1944, the most important and powerful person in the world. He also bears the most responsibility. He is more than just the titular head of the most powerful nation the world has ever seen. In that office resides the personification of human liberty on earth, the beacon to hearts of all men who would be free, the guardian and protector of freedom and virtue.

It certainly wears on a man, for it is a burden not suitable for common men or even strong men, but for great men. Some prove more equal to the task than others, but the 4 or 8 years in the office age the man visibly no matter how well he wears the mantle. It is the responsibility; the lack of sleep; the lack of any unaccountable leisure, privacy, or a moment when you can let down the mask, for 1461 consecutive days; the constant pull of people who want something from you, want to exploit their connection to you, or want to influence you; the weight of the entire world on your shoulders; the constant vigilance against foreign enemies; the burden of young soldiers who die under your command; the constant infighting both in-party and against the opposition party; the blame that falls your way, deserved or not; the knowledge that history will judge you, and you may have not done enough in the time you were given; the stress that your life and your choices put on your loved ones. It goes on and on, and I bet I don’t even know the 1/4 of it.

Real Men are Large and In Charge

We could talk about many qualities that make up the man and in these 50 articles, we’ll hit on most of them. But today I focus on this: the great president is large and in charge. He takes responsibility, takes ownership, for all that falls under his purview, both good and bad. He won’t have it any other way. The buck stops with that guy. All of that is true for many reasons, among them:

• adult alpha male instinct – the alpha male takes charge, calls the shots, runs things and controls people. He’s the bottom line, and he makes the final call.
• credit for success is politically important – when your action as a leader results in military success, an improved economy, or greater freedom, it’s not a given that you’ll get credit for it. The great president owns both the good and the bad, and can parlay the good into more political power for himself and his allies.
• leaders shield their own from undue blame – no leader can be called great who allows his underlings to twist in the wind, vulnerable to media and public shame, particularly when they have committed no fault. He fights valiantly to protect their honor — sometimes even when they are at fault. He will deflect blame onto himself to protect his person. That is what classy people do.
• accepting blame for what happened on your watch is a minimum requirement for an adult male of substance – whether it was actually something you could have stopped or not, or whether you were in fact guilty or not. He takes blame even when he knows better, then he picks up the burdens of his life and marches on.

Don’t miss that last point. Any grown-up responsible man of character instinctively directs blame to himself and away from others. He is slow and deliberate in throwing blame around. And here we are not talking about a great president; we are talking about an ordinary man.

Now against this backdrop, let us examine barack. Here’s a guy for whom it is not only not his fault, it has NEVER been his fault.Everything he does is noble and good. Everything his political opponents do is despicable and evil. He is unerringly smart and wise; his opponents and detractors are stupid, racist, and unpatriotic. His predecessors left him such an awful mess that even he — Superman, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, and Doctor Zhivago all rolled into one adorable creation–is having trouble fixing it, after three years of heroic effort.

Not Me! – the List

And blame. My goodness. I’ll leave out my opinion of how much of the mess that is America is his fault. Let’s even stipulate (quite generously) that NONE of this mess is his fault. Even if that were true, did you ever hear of a guy so quick to blame others?

Limbaugh compiled a short and non-comprehensive list (Youtube (h/t therightscoop.com) and transcript) of utterances of blame from the mouth and mind of barack:

• Obama Blames Arab Spring and Japan’s Earthquake on Struggling Economy and Job Situation, August 5th, 2011.
• Obama Blames Messy Democracy for His Failed Policies, August 3rd, 2011; remarks by the president at a DNC event.
• Obama Blames Congress for US Debt Mess; Obama news conference, June 29th, 2011.
• Obama Blames Republicans for Slow Pace on Immigration Reform, July 25th, 2011.
• Obama Blames Media for Lack of Compromise in Washington; remarks by Obama at a town hall meeting July 22nd, 2011.
• Obama Blames Technology for Struggling Economy; June 14th, 2011, NBC Today interview.
• Obama Blames Oil Spectators for High Oil Prices; April 19th, 2011, remarks by Obama at a town hall meeting.
• Obama Blames Reagan for America’s Out of Control Debt and Spending; remarks by President Obama April 13th, 2011, Federal News Service.
• Obama Blames Bush and Congress for Lack of Fiscal Discipline, April 13th, 2011; remarks by Obama, Federal News Service.
• Obama Blames Bush-Congress for Putting Off Tough Decisions, August 17th, 2010; remarks at a fundraiser for Patty Murray.
• Obama Blames Bush for Tax Cuts, Deficits; Obama town hall meeting on the economy in Racine, Wisconsin, June 30th, 2010.
• Obama Blames Bush for Deficits, June 8th, 2010; remarks by Obama at a second fundraising reception for Senator Barbara Boxer.
• Obama Blames GOP for Events that Led to Gulf Oil Spill; remarks by President Obama June 3rd, 2010, Federal News Service.
• Obama Blames Republicans for America Not Being Able to Solve Problems; remarks by President Obama June 3rd, 2010, Federal News Service.
• Obama Blames Corporations for Everybody’s Problems, June 3rd, 2010, Federal News Service. He said, “If you’re a Wall Street Journal bank or an insurance company or oil company, you pretty much get to play by your own rules regardless of the consequences for everybody else.” Blames corporations for everybody’s problems.
• Obama Blames Bush for Overall Standing of American Economy, April 19th, 2010, at a fundraising reception for Senator Boxer.
• Obama Blames Bush, Congress for Deficits, February 1, 2010, delivering remarks on the budget.
• Obama Blames Bush for Regulatory Policies; January 17th, 2010, remarks by the president at an event with attorney general Martha Coakley in Massachusetts.
• Obama Blames Corporations for Everybody Else’s Problems, June 3rd, 2010; remarks by President Obama.
• Obama Blames Bush for Overall Standing of Economy and American Standing, April 19th of 2010. Obama delivering remarks at a fundraising reception for Senator Boxer and the DNC.
• Obama Blames Bush and Congress for Deficits, February 1st, 2010, in remarks delivered on the budget.
• Obama Blames Bush for Regulatory Policies, January 17th, 2010, remarks by the president at an event with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
• Obama Blames Wall Street Fat Cats for Economic Disaster, December 13th, 2009, CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
• Obama Blames Bush for Overall Economy, September 27th, 2009, remarks by the president at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual dinner.
• Obama Blames Bush for Stifling Unions, September 7th, 2009; remarks by the president at the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic.
• Obama Blames Bush for Prescription Drug Bill; remarks by the president, health insurance reform town hall, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 11th, 2009.
• Obama Blames Bush for Jobs, July 22nd, 2009; news conferences by the president.
• Obama Blames Bush for Failure to Recognize Europe’s Leading Role in the World, April 3rd, 2009; remarks by President Obama at a Strasbourg town hall, and in those remarks he said this: “So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we’ve allowed our alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there’s something more that has crept into our relationship.”In America there’s a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world, instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive of you.” That’s Barack Obama, speaking in Europe at Strasbourg, blaming Bush for a failure to recognize Europe’s leading role in the world, April 3rd, 2009.
• Obama Blames Bush for Deficits, February 23rd, 2009; Obama delivering opening remarks at fiscal responsibility summit.
• Candidate Obama Blames Fox News for his Elitist Label, New York Times, October 2008.
• Candidate Obama Blames Fox News for Likely Loss in Kentucky Primary, May 2008.
• Candidate Obama Blames Washington for High Gas Prices, April 25th, 2008; remarks of Senator Barack Obama, press availability on energy plan, 25 April 2008.

Not a Great President. Not Even a Competent Man

Actually, the list of “Obama blames” could go on all day. When barack is measured against the backdrop of the job requirements in the first paragraphs above, when stood up alongside men like Ronald Reagan, George Washington, and even John F Kennedy, it becomes perfectly clear.

It’s not just that he’s a pathetic president. He’s not even a competent man.
For the 4th of 50 reasons, he’s not my president.