Hope to Change

I found an email in my inbox today labeled “George Will:  We Have A New Worst President”, in which the widely published columnist George Will hits on several of the reasons Barack Obama is the worst president we have ever had. This is not a new concept. I have heard many people remark that Jimmy Carter no longer holds that title. Almost daily, I get comments about Obama’s failings as president.

Worst president ever.  That’s an interesting concept, considering that William Henry Harrison only spent 31 days as president. That means Harrison did a better job in the month he served than Obama has in the five years he has sat in the Oval Office (when not on vacation).

So, what does “worst” mean in this instance? Judging by the explanations and reasoning given, it means Obama has done a poorer job of safeguarding the wellbeing and liberty of our country than any other president in the history of our nation. I’ll buy that. In fact, I would even say that Obama’s actions have been detrimental to the wellbeing and liberty of our nation. Under his administration, we are deeper in debt and spending more on frivolous and unnecessary programs than any previous president.

But that is not the only detrimental product of this president. Besides apologizing to the world for the success of our form of government, Obama has driven us deeper into dictatorial socialism with his czars and rule by executive order.

The Obamacare fiasco – which, by the way, is simply a form of wealth distribution -- is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface of this administration lurks a foundation of lies and outright deceit, from the Benghazi affair all the way to, “if you like your health insurance plan you can keep it.” This sure makes Bill Clinton’s lies – for which congress voted impeachment – look tame.

There was a time when a person wouldn’t (maybe couldn’t) even appear interested in being president. Someone would place a name in for nomination, and the candidate wouldn’t even appear to actually campaign for the job. These days, presidential candidates present a somewhat less humble posture. Obama has taken that a giant leap further. He is narcissistic enough to believe he is a ruler rather merely an executor of congressional legislation. He treats the US Treasury as his own private piggy bank by taking multi-million dollar vacations and giving his wife her own taxpayer subsidized staff.

One can study every character and punctuation mark – even read between the lines – of the constitution, and nowhere will you find the official position of “First Lady.” The president’s wife is not an employee of the US government. Why does the government furnish her with a staff and government funded “vacation” trips replete with government transportation, security, and “staff.” Although the First Lady doesn’t get a salary (not an employee?), she does receive a “budget”, thanks to (who else?) Jimmy Carter. I’m sure somewhere in the White House accounting mess there is an item titled First Lady Budget, but I couldn’t find it. There are 460 employees of the White House, most make around $100k +/- salaries. Maybe the First Lady’s staff is in that bunch. We pay Obama $400k per year, but this president seems to have brought bennies to a new level.

As Sarah Palin said during the last election, “how’s that hopey-changy thing working for you?” Well it’s not working for me. Let’s hope our next president is a dramatic change for the better. Only a reincarnation of Joseph Stalin could make it any worse.