"Playing President"

                                                         

Ronald Reagan was a former actor who just happened to be elected President....and he played the role pretty damn well.  In the actor's studio Reagan was taught to go inside himself, identify those traits and qualities that are "you", then translate those inner ethics into productive behavior.  In Reagan's case, he was naturally an optimist, held conservative principles, loved human interaction, and loved America deeply.  Though Reagan was far past the career point where an Oscar could be had, he achieved something far greater; he received political support from nearly every Republican in the country, and, more importantly, well over half of those who called themselves Democrats.  And, despite his age, Reagan was the only modern Republican to enjoy the adoration of college kids.

Barack Hussein Obama sadly lacks the skills of a quality actor.  Oh sure, he acts...but it is so superficial that most folks who abstain from drinking the liberal Kool-Aid see right through it.  Obama seems never to have grown past the stage where Tommy and Tammy go up in the attic, don Daddy and Mommy's oversize clothes and play "grownup".    Now, when Obama, in shoes far too big to fill, played "lawyer", he wasn't bad; he stood arrogantly, was careful with his words, spit out talking points as if he were making the closing argument before a trial jury.  However, when Obama tries to stand up as our nation's leader the little whiny boy-child comes out.  He stutters, he stammers, he equivocates, and all the while the American people are watching and listening.  And those same Americans gave Obama more than enough time to "find himself".  Sadly, after thousands of teleprompter speeches in which he fails to inspire or convince, he is now dismissed as a pretender.  

Again, look at the difference between Reagan and Obama.  Reagan deployed his actor's training to delve inside himself, decide what he believes in deeply, then deployed those beliefs to his public political persona.  With Obama, we are left to wonder where his ethical foundation lies, if one exists at all.  And the problem with this paucity of principle is that, when the hard decisions have to be made, Obama seems to have no inner strength to draw from...which leaves him panic stricken during the Benghazi tragedy, a bumbling back peddler on Syria, and, on domestic issues, must resort to bribery and special interest exemptions to pass Obamacare.  

So when Obama is faced with political or ideological opposition he tends to transform that opposition into something vulgar.  He possesses an arrogance so immense that, when someone disagrees with him, his only option is to demonize that opposition...to write it off as something that holds no substance.  For example, just the other day Obama was bemoaning the House conservatives efforts to defund Obamacare.  Rather than arguing the merits of his own program Obama chose to utter the query "why do Republicans want to hurt people?"  He really cannot understand that 67% of Americans continue to oppose Obamacare for its immense costs and oppressive regulation of our personal healthcare.  Nor does he understand that the additional $13 trillion Obamacare is projected to add to our already obscene national deficit!  As he has said often "we don't have a deficit problem...we just need to raise more taxes from the 'fat cats'".  

Gertrude Stein once wrote of her culturally deprived hometown, "there is no 'there' there".  Sadly, that seems to be the case with a man who can spout principles in soaring rhetoric...yet who saves none for himself.