By John W. Lillpop
President Obama has managed, in just fourteen short months, to turn the words hope and change into bitter reminders of the fact that high-sounding oratory, without substance to back it up, can lead to disaster.
America used to have an independent, unbiased mainstream media that we relied on to bring simplistic rhetoric and exaggerated promises strewn about by ambitious politicians into perspective.
Like a school of hungry sharks sensing freshly-spilled blood in the water, American media could be counted on to rip and tear away at vulnerable wounds in order to uncover skeletal remains lurking in the closets of those whom would govern.
Vetting by the media was an invaluable, although despised, part of the American political process that protected lazy Americans from the foolish prattle proliferated by politicians without substance in their dossiers.
We counted on blood-thirsty sharks in the media pool to challenge the words, integrity, and claimed capabilities of the candidates and to share their findings in an objective and reasoned manner.
In a most unfortunate turn of events, the media lost its collective taste for blood with the arrival of Barack Obama on the national political scene three years ago.
This young, handsome man was highly articulate, obviously intelligent, very liberal, and photogenic.
Best of all, Barack Obama was an African-American with the potential to assuage liberal guilt over slavery, Jim Crow laws, and a history of racial discrimination, all in one fell swoop.
He was immediately bequeathed the Torch of John F. Kennedy by the media, still in awe that a black man could be so clean and articulate. Visions of a resurrected Camelot danced about in the minds of leftists from coast to coast.
There were no probing reviews of Obama’s candidacy. No one bothered to ask what he knew about the global economy, foreign policy, or even American history. No one bothered to do a critical assessment of his experience and accomplishments with regard to the responsibilities of the US Presidency.
Barack Obama was largely an unknown quantity to the American people and to the mainstream media three years ago; his tenure in the US Senate was brief and undistinguished. There was precious little in his background to suggest that he was qualified to take on the presidency.
However, he was eloquent, liberal, and black and not George W. Bush. Those qualities apparently trumped the need for substance, at least in the hearts and minds of the star-struck media.
Who the hell needs substance when the candidate can drive a “thrill” up and down the legs of hard-nosed journalists like Chris Matthews?
In many ways, the Obama candidacy and presidency are a parody of the 2003 flick, Head of State, starring Chris Rock, in which an inexperienced and unqualified candidate rides BS and circumstances into the White House.
The Obama insanity also rivals the Elvis Presley craze of the 1950s, when the young truck driver from Tennessee turned the music world on its heels by swiveling his hips and introducing CHANGE called Rock and Roll to an eager public.
The major difference between Elvis Presley and Barack Obama, however, is that at least Presley could carry a tune and strum a guitar.
The big question of our time comes down to this: Can America recover from the disastrous Obama presidency?
