Where's The Hope?

     Clara Peller, the old woman in the 1980s Wendy's commercial, in reference to the competitors hamburgers, would indignantly spout, "Where's the beef?" For anyone who remembers that commercial, I am sure you can remember just over four years ago when Barack Obama promised the nation hope and change. Now the reality must be faced, by those with the courage to do so, that all we have is a change towards less hope. Now that Mr. Obama is solidly into ruining a second term with more of the same obstinate authoritarian policies, those of good faith must make an honest assessment of his promise to deliver on hope and change and what went wrong.
     One of the essential virtues that would have turned what has become the biggest failure in presidential history into one of the greatest presidencies, was recently illustrated by President Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush. At the launch of his library and research center, former President Bush gave an inspired speech and it was striking how many times he used the term 'We' as opposed to his successor who is constantly using the opposite pronoun, 'I'. It was also refreshing to hear someone so succinctly and unabashedly extol the great virtues of America.
     It may seem petty to pick apart President Obama's use of one pronoun over another, but that one word expresses volumes about the character of the man and why he has failed so miserably. Barack Obama is the self-contained president and he looks at the United States Congress as an impedance to the great work that only he can accomplish. I have mentioned before in this blog that President Reagan had a sign on his desk that read, "It is amazing what a man can accomplish when he doesn't care who gets the credit." It is President Obama's strict adherence to the antithesis of this sentiment that has caused more pain for the American people and a legacy of mediocrity and failure for his administration. To Witt: just today the first quarter Gross Domestic Product was announced, and it slumped in at 2.5 percent. This pathetic growth comes as we approach the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the so-called economic recovery. A recovery that has been more analogous to a patient being kept alive on life support. In this case, the life support is Ben Bernanke printing money at an alarming rate and using it to buy government bonds to drive money into the stock market.
     I do not have any problem with Barack Obama being a Democrat, if he had truly wanted to solve the nation's problems and set it on a path back to prosperity. He also could have taken the nation past racial division instead of using it for his and his party's political gain at every turn. Truly, history handed Barack Obama an opportunity to do great things and in the process secure himself a place beside some of our nation's greatest presidents. He instead chose the pronoun 'I' instead of 'We' and devolved the presidency into a fortress of derision aimed at his political opponents befitting the best community organizer but unworthy of the President of the United States.