The First Black President

Author's note: I published the original version of this shortly before the election. I present it to you again, edited and lengthened for the inauguration and maybe with a funny parenthetical line here or there.

I am very, very disappointed in the administration of President Barack Obama.

"Yeah, no kidding," you're probably telling yourself right now.  It is not a secret I find the current administration contemptible. I could fill an entire book on why (something I will leave to those actually good at writing books).  By disappointment, however, I do not mean my usual angst against his policies or behavior.

I refer to nothing more than a deep, profound sadness.

Let me tell you a story. When I was a little boy in Irvington, New Jersey (not as long ago as I make it sound), I attended a school that was, as I recall, majority minority.  Thus we always had presentations regarding the heritages of various minority groups. “African-American heritage” was stressed in particular.  We even had a yearly assembly for Kwanzaa.

One thing that always seemed to stick in my mind, though, was the suggestion that we could, one day, have a black president.  We were told the usual childhood encouragement ("If you work hard, one day, you could even become president!").  I was taught about our nation's “racist heritage” and how we had yet to have a black man in the White House.  The racism never really stuck, though it was approached in a subtle, subversive way.  Historical racism stayed just that for me: historical. I automatically assumed that it was gone and dead.  However, for a long while, there was a little place in the back of my mind that always hoped to one day see a black man in the Oval Office.

At the beginning of 2008's primary season, long before Barack Obama became a viable contender for the presidency, I finally stamped out that little corner of my mind.  I had come to recognize that it did not matter what the person in the White House looked like.  Only their character mattered.  So I found myself immune to his charm and his teleprompter-based style when Senator Obama ascended as the candidate of the Democrat Party.  That immunity kept my eyes open as I saw all the warning signs of radicalism, despite the media's shameless attempts to hide it.

Yet, on election night 2008, when it became clear that Barack Obama had won the presidency, I saw my Facebook page explode with friends who were excited to have made history. Obviously, it is a silly way to think, as “making history” can be both good and bad.  Yet I will admit that, on the inside, I felt a small resurgence of pride in that a black man had just been elected president of the United States, just as I would have as a child.  Like most conservatives, I resolved to give him a chance, despite my apprehensions.  Perhaps it was the old dream that allowed me to soften my heart just a bit and hope for the best.

That dream has made the past four years all the more painful, disappointing and shameful.  Instead of being a beacon of hope and an example of America's greatness, the past four years have been dismal. Instead of bridging divides between Americans, the president has intensified them. He lies about and impugns the motives of his opposition, preferring to beat up strawmen than debate facts.  He has ignored the Constitutional limits on his power time and again and deceived the public on matters ranging from gun running to terrorist attacks.

With his first term having drawn to a close, his only major accomplishments will prove far more destructive to the country than those of his predecessor. With each day that passes, the country becomes a little more in debt, a little poorer. We, the people of this great nation, become a little less free with each dollar that binds us to creditors and foreign nations. For a man that promised change and promised that our best days are ahead of us, he has failed to deliver on both.

Despite his policies yielding negligible or bad results, Barack Obama refuses to take responsibility.  He blames his predecessor incessantly, even after being in office for four years.   He spends more time golfing and hobnobbing with celebrities than he does in intelligence briefings.  His office is empty more often than not as he speaks at rallies filled with screaming fan boys and girls, rallies that are easier than even fielding questions from a (very friendly) press corps.

I feel that Barack Obama has been robbed of his sense of personal responsibility.  A man with no real accomplishments, he has been handed nearly every position he has held in life.  Some will say he excelled in college, but he has never released his transcripts.  Judging by how peculiar that is and a lack of real accomplishment in his professional life, that leads me to believe he did not do well at all.  Penning no papers on the Harvard Law Review, considered intellectually lazy as an adjunct professor and voting present more often than not in elected office, he is little more than a self-entitled shell.

I often hear older black people say they were taught by their own parents and grandparents to be a "credit to their race."  They had to endure racism and thus had to work harder to achieve and succeed.  Yet now, the president seems to be nothing but the antithesis of a "credit to his race."  In the end, the first black president has been everything he should not have been.

And it is a shame.

On the 2012 Election

Well, after taking a kinda-sorta break immediately following an election that was a disaster, I am back and in full force.  I have my ice cream, my vodka and my fuzzy bunny slippers and I am all ready to curl up and cry for another few months.  Yes, I will be eating all three.

In all seriousness, as I slowly recover from the utter demoralization of Tuesday, let me give you my thoughts on what happened.

This man loses more gracefully than liberals win, sadly.

First of all, I was utterly shocked by the result.  Not only did Mitt Romney lose, but the Republicans lost seats in congress (though they maintained their house majority).  You already know this.  I think I can also say with confidence I was as flabbergasted as the rest of the conservative movement by this.  It seemed like the momentum was on our side, with the terrible shape the nation is in, and people would be wise enough to make the change needed to fix our ever-growing problems.

They did not and now the question is why?  Let me take a stab at it.

First, I honestly believe Romney was a bad candidate.  Now, do not get me wrong, conservatives did not have a good crop to choose from to begin with.  Most of the others had baggage or inherent flaws.  I love Rick Santorum and Herman Cain (the latter's recent advocacy of a third party notwithstanding), but I also realize neither could have won.  I am also not shortchanging Mitt, for I believe he put as much effort as he personally could into his bid.

However, Romney had several glaring issues, among them Romneycare.  It took the issue of Obamacare off the table almost entirely.  It was most certainly mentioned here or there, but its taxes, spending and rationing never got the play it should have.  Indeed, with Obama's re-election, many businesses fully intend on avoiding its costs and a firmer argument against it may have avoided the lost jobs we will be seeing.

He also never truly has been a conservative.  In this election, it seemed imperative to me that our side draw a clear distinction between ourselves and Barack Obama and, in so doing, show those demographic groups who often vote Democrat that we have their best interests at heart.  That never happened. Romney certainly talked a good game and selected Paul Ryan, to his credit, but it never truly got beyond that.  Thus the lines between the "devil we knew "and the "devil we didn't" became increasingly blurred, particularly during the third debate.

However, moreso than Mitt's own flaws as a candidate was his campaign apparatus.  I believe he surrounded himself with establishment advisers who gave him bad advice.  Part of me genuinely wonders if it was Mitt himself who preferred passivity or the advice he was given to be less aggressive.  Perhaps it was a combination both.  Either way, his campaign was mismanaged, much in the same way John McCain's was (though McCain was a charisma black hole, if what happened Sarah Palin is any indication).  His lack of aggressiveness on issues like Benghazi allowed to truth to stay sealed up tight.

Additionally, I am hearing stories now of a truly weak ground game by the Republicans, which, if true, is truly absurd.  Millions of conservatives and Christians not voting should not be happening, particularly in an election this important.  Obama having a stronger ground game should not have translated into an inept one by his opposition.

This points to what are really the inherent weaknesses of the Republican Party.  If its establishment is so mired in their own egos and belief in their ability that they cannot organize effectively, it is about time they be replaced with people of energy and fresh ideas.  Replaced by people capable of adapting to the information age and changing demographics.  In particular, that establishment must be replaced by people with true conservative principles instead of party loyalty.

I believe when we realize this, conservatives will have learned the true lesson of 2012.

P.S. Think I may write about some of the smaller issues on the election tomorrow or Saturday.  There are many small issues like Chris Christie, Akin and Mourdock and others that deserve some mention.  That and I just feel like talking about it.  You got a problem with that?

On the First Black President

There's something that has been weighing on my heart lately and now seems as good a time as ever to mention it.

I am very, very disappointed in the administration of President Barack Obama.

"Yeah, no kidding," you're probably telling yourself right now.  It is not a secret I find the current administration contemptible.  However, by disappointment, I refer to nothing more than a deep, profound sadness.

When I was a little boy in Irvington, New Jersey, I attended a school that was, as I recall, majority minority.  Thus we always had presentations regarding the heritages of various minority groups.  We even had a yearly assembly for Kwanzaa (even then, I was confused by it).

One thing that always seemed to stick in my mind, though, was the suggestion that we could, one day, have a black president.  We were told the usual childhood encouragement ("If you work hard, one day, you could even become president!").  I was taught about our nation's racist heritage and how we had yet to have a black man in the White House.  The racism never really stuck.  Historical racism stayed just that for me: historical.  However, for a long while, there was a little place in the back of my mind that always hoped to one day see a black man in the Oval Office.

Perhaps ironically, I eliminated that though at the beginning of 2008's primary season, long before Barack Obama became a viable contender for the presidency.  I had come to recognize that it did not matter what the person in the White House looked like.  Only their character mattered.  So I found myself immune to his charm and his teleprompter-based style when Sentator Obama ascended as the candidate of the Democrat Party.  That immunity kept my eyes open as I saw all the warning signs of radicalism, despite the media's shameless attempts to hide it.

Yet, on election night 2008, when it became clear that Barack Obama had won the presidency, I saw my Facebook page explode with friends who were excited to have made history.  Indeed, on the inside, I felt a small resurgence of pride in that a black man had just been elected president of the United States.  Like most conservatives, I resolved to give him a chance, despite my apprehensions.  Those feelings were driven, in part by that old spark of pride in seeing a black man ascending to the White House.

That spark has made the past four years all the more painful, disappointing and shameful.  Instead of being a beacon of hope and positive change, the past four years have been dismal with exploding debt and economic stagnation.  The president, instead of bridging divides between Americans, has intensified them and viciously attacked those he does not like or sees as convenient targets.  He has forced legislation through congress and ignored the Constitutional limits on his power time and again.

Despite his actions yielding negligible or bad results time and again, Barack Obama refuses to take responsibility.  He blames his predecessor constantly, even after being in office for four years.  He spends more time golfing and hobnobbing with celebrities than he does in intelligence briefings.  His office is empty more often than not as he speaks at rallies filled with screaming fan boys and girls, rallies that are far easier than than fielding questions from the press corps.

I feel that Barack Obama has been robbed of his sense of personal responsibility.  A man with no real accomplishments, he has been handed nearly every position he has held in life.  Some will say he excelled in college, but he has never released his transcripts.  Judging by how peculiar that is and a lack of real accomplishment in his professional life, that leads me to believe he did not do well at all.  Penning no papers on the Harvard Law Review, considered intellectually lazy as an adjunct professor and voting present more often than not in elected office, he is little more than a self-entitled shell.

Now that lack of accomplishment in his life has returned to haunt him as he is unprepared to take responsibility for his failures or defend himself against true challenge to his worldview.  And now, as his campaign appears to sputter out, latching on to internet memes week after week in a desperate attempt to stay afloat, all I can feel is a profound disappointment at how far the hope and change of 2008 has fallen.

I often hear older black people say they were taught by their own parents and grandparents to be a "credit to their race."  They had to endure racism and thus had to work harder to achieve and succeed.  Yet now, the president seems to be nothing but the antithesis of a "credit to his race."  In the end, the first black president, whether he wins re-election or not, has been everything he should not have been.

And it is a shame.