Thursday, June 17, 2010

Back To Jimmy Carter's "Malaise"

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I had an eerie feeling of dejavu listening to President Obama's speech the other night.

It felt too much like July 15, 1979.

President Obama made many feel like the "malaise" President Carter described nearly 30 years ago. I know he didn't use the word "malaise," but one of his staff did in describing his fateful speech, and it stuck.

Some of Obama's strongest supporters are now beginning to turn on him.

Back in 1979 Carter said, "I'm proposing a bold conservation program to involve every state, county, and city and every average American in our energy battle."

In 2010 Obama is saying, "Tonight I'd like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going to be."

Both seeing the energy issue as a war.

In '79 Carter said, "In little more than two decades we've gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries at prices that are going through the roof."

In 2010, President Obama is saying, "I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence."

Not only is President Obama sounding like President Carter, he seems to be leading like President Carter.

And his strongest supporters in the media are upset and are comparing him to Jimmy Carter.

Chris Matthews at MSNBC said Obama is trying to push the exact same transition that "broke Carter," and he worked for Carter.

Matthews, who has been an outspoken advocate of President Obama and Keith Olbermann observed on air that Obama didn't seem to have command of the situation. Matthews said of Obama, "I don't sense executive command."

Olbermann concluded, "It was a great speech if you were on a different planet for the past 57 days."

And therein is the problem.

A man who has excelled in acquiring academic entitlements, now out of the classroom and community organizing in South Chicago, finds himself on another planet.

It's called the real world. It is no longer classroom hypotheticals, but real problems with real consequences.

And he isn't able to lead in this new environment.
The New York Times was questioning his ability to lead even before the speech earlier this week.

Rather than leading, President Obama has spent a year and a half blaming George W. Bush for every problem that exists in America.

He has made "Blaming Bush" a cottage industry, which worked for him for a while, but as the economy became his economy and the unemployment numbers became his unemployment numbers and record budget deficits became his deficits and his healthcare plan now faces a strong majority of Americans who want it repealed, reality is dawning.

Not only does he presently have the lowest approval rating in his presidency, but a recent
Public Policy Poll hands him the ultimate chink in the armor. Their polling finds more Louisiana people believe that George W. Bush did a better job handling Hurricane Katrina, than Barack Obama has done with the BP oil spill.

But there is good news.

After Jimmy Carter came Ronald Reagan.

The next two years will define what America, our state and our communities are to become over the next many decades.

The future is in the hands of God and He has, in this country, given "we the people" the right and the responsibility to choose our leaders and our future.

Choose well.

Faith and Freedom is doing everything we possibly can do to Inform and Inspire and Involve as many people as possible in the up coming elections.

Your financial support allows us to do this. With it we can continue, without it we cannot. Thanks for standing with us.

Be Vigilant. Be Informed. Be Prayerful. Be Blessed.

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Gary Randall
President
Faith and Freedom

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