Luckily for Us, Obama Doesn’t Realize He Won

by Anthony Bialy

Barack Obama’s doesn’t seem to know that the year changed. His approach indicates that he thinks today is set in 2008, which has understandably led to him experiencing confusion. The president isn’t acting very presidential: in his mind, he seemingly remains a hopeful contender for the nation’s highest office whose job is using exalted rhetoric to promote blandly positive ideas. The most noticeable effect is his obliviousness to the fact that he should be doing and not selling; sadly, he may not know the difference.

He’s clearly having less fun after having been hired than he did during the application process. Back then, all he had to do was proclaim that everything was not only broken but easily repairable, and excitable crowds would thrust up Pepsi logo style-signs while cheering relentlessly. Huge chunks of voters weren’t thinking about how hard it would be to sell steak knives door-do-door: they were mesmerized by tales of six-figure income potential.

But everything’s different here in 2009 where he must pair actions with mellifluous words. For example, coming out in favor of shuttering Gitmo is fine until you’re the boss and suddenly have to figure out what to do with the Gitmonians. Nobody either home or abroad wants them nearby; it’s for an obviously good reason, as the facility houses some of the most awful monsters ever to devolve from humans. Obama might be aware that letting them rot in Cuba was a fine plan all along, but acting wisely conflicts with speaking self-righteously.

Plus, it’s easy for a campaigner to claim that everyone deserves to be healthy all the time. But taking care of ourselves is a notion that grows more appealing to more people by the day. That’s because a majority now understands that, under Obamacare, the nasty lady who gave you your driving test would have the power to decide if you contribute enough to society to have earned iron lung time. He was ahead of us on the rhetoric, but we’ve surpassed him when it comes to grasping the details.

Similarly, he undoubtedly expected a different response to his claim that cap and trade will benefit both the environment and industry. But, unlike the trite slogan-chanting throngs last August, the public is aghast at what he wants to do to get what he said, namely choke industry while hoisting our utility rates. People who were swayed by his general style last summer at last grasp that the costs don’t justify the negligible benefits.

But he’s baffled at the electorate’s revolt for one big reason: he doesn’t see how he’s seen. Obama neglects to grasp that he was elected thanks entirely to a lickspittle media, lousy faux-rebel of an opponent, and five words: “hope,” “change,” “yes,” “we,” and “can.” He still doesn’t comprehend that his triumph wasn’t based in his rather curious vision to convert America into Lower Canada.

It would help if Obama’s minions were willing to dissent. For example, we’ve learned that George W. Bush’s crew debated when necessary; that’s despite the way that the media desperately tried to portray them at the time as a collection of lockstep Stormtroopers.

Unfortunately, Elvis got more honest feedback from the Memphis Mafia than Barack receives from his inner circle. With so little criticism from the press or his people, it’s entirely possible that he thought beating Meghan McCain’s dad equated to an endorsement of his left-of-liberal agenda.

Obama fails to see that things have changed since he went from fighting the power to being the power. Namely, conservatives are now entirely focused on defending their convictions now that they’re under siege. Small-government advocates had been wandering about like zombies strung out on cough syrup. But it turns out that the one thing that unites the right is seeing the left trying to obtain what they want.

Moderates are coming along, too. Many didn’t listen to those of us who were ardently pointing out that Obama was the Senate’s biggest liberal. But they’ve finally perked up now that he’s employing the same philosophy in the White House instead of in the Capitol.

The unaffiliated don’t care for the concrete principles lurking behind the president’s soaring oratory. They’re sobering up to the reality that all the optimism and vague talk of alterations is being specifically applied toward an agenda that makes Lyndon Johnson’s ideas look like Barry Goldwater’s.

As for the office-holder himself, he’s discovering that maybe he’s better suited at being a pure finger-pointer; he doesn’t seem to want the buck to stop anywhere near him. Certainly, he might have been aware of how tough it is to be the boss if he had a little more life experience. But he regrettably decided that he was prepared to lead the nation despite possessing a background limited to community organizing, teaching and practicing law, and being credited as the author of some books.

To be fair, he’s at least done quite well for himself financially, although it’s odd that someone who despises high medical professional and executive salaries can with a straight face vacation at a property http://tinyurl.com/llh9ql whose weekly rental rate is a mere $13,000 less than the nation’s per capita GDP http://tinyurl.com/2l9rcv. It’s just another aspect of Obama’s reign that doesn’t correspond with his thoughts; luckily for him, the pay czar probably won’t dig too deeply in this particular case.

Either way, his first chance to be in charge shows that our president doesn’t know what to do with the power that he’s so consistently accused others of misusing. Obama is stricken with the newspaper critic’s syndrome: it’s far more undemanding to proclaim that a movie or restaurant stinks than make a worthwhile film or cook a yummy dinner.

Of course, calling out the president in, say, a smart-alecky internet column is infinitely easier than actually holding a position of influence. But at least some of us impudent Microsoft Word jockeys know the difference between recognizing symptoms and inventing a vaccine. On the other hand, Doctor O is practicing medicine without a license.

Obama genuinely seems to think that his speaking voice alone can lead and modify the country. That’s why he gets so pouty whenever he hears about people disagreeing with him. Maybe everybody on his staff whispers about how the boss doesn’t know that he’s at a stage where it’s no longer easy to hustle ballot-casters, but they’re all too embarrassed to tell him.

Administration members could conceivably step up and inform the chief that his role now entails more than complaining in an eloquent manner. They should make Robert Gibbs initiate the confrontation: not only does he seem to enjoy facing abuse for a living, but it would also give him a chance to be candid for once. Inducing the president out of his vainglorious coma would be personally good for someone like Gibbs, as it could help the press secretary overcome his tendency to somehow be simultaneously haughty and toadying.

As for the rest of us, we may find it tough to determine whether it’s better to have a delusional leftist in charge with a tiny but frightening chance of shoving through his agenda or a liberal-leaning realist who may be able to engineer the enactment of numerous trifling yet annoying bills. Either way, Obama presents a continuous reminder of how crucial it is next time to uncover and vigorously back a presidential aspirant whose values correspond with ours. The alternative is to once again be stuck with a winner who pathetically can’t stop running for office.

Anthony Bialy is a freelance writer and “Red Eye” Conservative in Western New York.

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