“My friend said that if I voted for McCain the country would collapse. I voted for McCain…” And the Country is collapsing.
I remember my first indepth intro to Obama – not long after he gave his stirring keynote address at the Dem’s Kerry Convention in ’04.
It came by way of THE WEEKLY STANDARD – Editor Andrew Ferguson gave a review of DREAMS OF MY FATHER combined with some background on who this new Illinois senator was.
What Ferguson found out when questioning numerous people Obama had worked with or for, as well as some he interviewed with at sine big Law Firms Obama tried at various junctures to hire into, echo’s your observation JackLifton.
A pretty smart guy, real impressive in person, but. Diffident, muddled, and the definition of ‘adrift’ as far as settling on a career. For a guy who was the first Black Man to edit the Harvard Law Review, he did a massive amount of dithering – AND RARELY MADE MUCH MONEY.
Sure he taught as an adjunct prof – for over ten years – and apparently never published anything. Sure there was some actual lawyering ouside of the classroom, but besides the much publizied account of working for Acorn, the public knows nothing of ANY of it.(just like his school records you mentioned Jack)
Truth is Michelle carried the family as far as an income until he published DREAMS{for which he recieved an INSANE ADVANCE – given his obscurity at the time}. That book established his public persona – and made him a lot of money once he won a Senate seat. I do recall that the re-release of DREAMS garnered him over a million when his tax returns were reported once he moved into the White House.
The adoring pundits on the left always refer to Obama’s intellectual bona fides for this package – Harvard, taught law at Chicago U, and is a best-selling author.
But I view Obama like Andrew Ferguson; he is a SOCIAL intellectual; gifted with language (setting aside the possiblity raised by some that he – like JFK before him – didn’t write much if any of DREAMS – the book that ‘made’ him) and socially deft. More Chameleon than Charismatic. A man of little actual accomplishment since Harvard who rode a tightly controlled public image into the Senate over an opponent who convieniently imploded.
And then (after little to distinguish him again in the Senate) 4 years later rode a financial crises into the White House.
Where he has shown zero leadership….on anything. Everything on the legislative side has been to demure to Pelosi & Reid. While the MSM gave him credit for pushing through Health Care – with his 11th hour campaiging – he didn’t really do squat. Even with a once fillibuster proof House & Senate.
The same is true on Afganistan. The Gulf. Foreign Policy – from the Cario Speech to Israel to Iran to Russian …you name it. From the Bowing to Monarchs to morally equating Chavez to China.
He never was an empty suit. Just a Chicago Pol with impeccable timing who woo’d the electorate during a very scary period; exausted by war, shocked by depth and negligence that conservatives under Bush had ravaged the economy.
Now not even an adoring MSM can hide the facts in plain sight; his is a far left adgenda openly hostile to american capitalism. Whether it’s Immigration, the Gulf, Energy policy or a Stimulus debate – what he has to say now matters little.
People are acutely tuned to what he does. Increasingly they reject it – and with that – what little trust remains is going south.
