Exceptional incompetence

Here is an opinion piece from the New York Times that I quite like. It is called, "What Happened to Obama's Passion?" and you can read it here:

History's Arc


Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:

"...when faced with the greatest economic crisis, the greatest levels of economic inequality, and the greatest levels of corporate influence on politics since the Depression, Barack Obama stared into the eyes of history and chose to avert his gaze"

People are still charitable towards Obama, a sentiment I cannot rally in myself. They see him as misguided but pitted against the forces that supported his presidential campaign handsomely. They see him as a man struggling with exceptional incompetence, I guess, to overcome the forces of evil which were his largest campaign donors.

I assume that believing the obvious is too painful, and so people make up stories with better narrative. The obvious is that Obama isn't on your side, doesn't intend to be on your side, and lies to you every time he pretends to be on your side. You keep falling for this obvious deception because you find it comforting to believe your presidential vote was correct, but for exceptional incompetence.

America is being methodically destroyed, for as go her finances so goes her military, for as goes her middle-class so goes her stability. America will suffer the death of a 1000 cuts and Obama will wield the sword with the pride that goeth before the fall.

The soft bigotry of low expectations

I've talked to plenty of democrats that claim president Obama is doing his best to promote democratic values in a hostile environment, but I have been unable to swallow this fork-full of bull-crap. The president knows the policies he passes comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted. Here is an unambiguous statement he made recently, which demonstrates he knows what he is doing before he fails to act:

"If you don't have revenues, it means you're putting more of a burden on the people who can least afford it."

- President Obama -

The president has veto power, and he has support in the Senate, and he has the support of the electorate (even 66% of Tea Party members supported revenue increases if accompanied by spending cuts). If he fails to act it is not because he is a lone guppie in a bowl full of large-mouth bass. If he fails to act it is because he lacks the will to do what needs to be done.