I’ve stated this many times, but I believe it bears repeating; I WANT President Obama to SUCCEED!  Here’s one of the main areas where I believe he miscalculated.  It has recently occurred to me that Obama was expecting LIBERALS to “fall in line” – in the words of Randi Rhodes – just as the republicans have managed to do and WILL manage to do – even with the dearth of candidates to select from.  What you’re hearing now in “liberal” circles are comments like “Obama’s the best of the options” – with nowhere near the excitement his candidacy held when people were believing that “Change has come to America!”  I’m still trying to figure out what Obama meant by that.  Was he seriously thinking that initiating DIFFERENT proposals from the republicans would constitute what his base considered “change?”  Did he really think that the backroom “deals” which went down during the health “reform” debate would not be noticed?  Something that was unbelievable – at the time – to me, was Obama’s agreement through indifference to his former chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel’s comment calling liberals “f___ing retards.”

President Obama has made some significant achievements along the way, but I believe his foopahs far outweigh his “brownie points” and he’s running out of time to appeal to the likes of people such as myself.  What is becoming painfully real to me is that President Obama has NO INTENTION of appealing to me, and those MILLIONS of Americans who believe as I do that the New Deal is the foundation that made this country great, leaving us with that horrible choice of the best of two unappealing options when the 2012 election rolls around.  And, personally, I believe the republicans are playing Obama like a cheap fiddle and have something like a surprise candidate up their sleeves that will totally excite their base and put Obama’s presidency in dire straights.  Every day, I’m becoming more convinced that those behind the scenes in the republican party, realizing Obama’s “wounded” state, are going to turn to Jeb Bush as the “reasonable” candidate – and the collective sigh of relief from republicans of any sensible mentality that none of the FRINGE candidates being paraded around the country at present will be the nominee will cause EVERYONE in the republican party to forget that Jeb is a BUSH!  Ughhhhh! (Please read the Bush Dynasty by Kevin Phillips if you need any more motivation than just the potential Supreme Court nominees if you need motivation to vote for Obama)

Take for example the recent republican “frontrunner,” Rick Perry from Texas (that’s right, GW’s successor as governor of Texas).  The guy is making similar outlandish claims as to what a great governor he is – but, when you look deeper, about the only place where his decisions lead the nation is in administering the death penalty to criminals.  I cringe when I listen to my republican friends quoting the Fox propaganda that Perry is some kind of “education” guru.  Texas is at or near the BOTTOM of the United States in most meaningful statistics relating to their education system.  Perry is no different than GW Bush in that he would love to see public education eliminated in its present state.  What does that mean, you might ask?  Well, for starters, Perry’s part of the anti-union, anti collective bargaining group of republican governors who have been busy helping the national republican party overcome the annoying realities of remnants of the New Deal where workers actually had a say in their working conditions and compensation.  Honestly, I’m struggling to understand why it’s taking so many Americans so long to figure out what is happening here.  The reality is that MOST American citizens are WORKERS or employees or whatever you want to call them – and, taking their rights away SHOULD be a MAJOR losing proposition for any politician.  Perry has also stated that he believes Social Security and Medicare are UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and he has THREATENED the head of the Federal Reserve Bank should he institute policy aimed at encouraging economic growth and job creation in America.  The FACT Perry threatened to lead a succession movement in Texas should not be lost on anyone (does that make you wonder why he’d want to lead a government he so despises?) and the hypocrisy of Perry’s condemnation of the “stimulus” money while taking OVER 17 BILLION dollars worth and using it to help stabilize a teetering state economy should make it clear where he’s really “coming from.”

Personally, as stated above, I believe it’s only a matter of time until the republicans are “looking elsewhere” for their candidate – and, it should be obvious to anyone watching the past few years that if it ends up being Mitt Romney, the “tea party” enthusiasm will be like a campfire that’s just been doused with water!  Keep in mind, the NUMBER ONE republican goal for 2012 is that President Obama would be a one term president.  Unfortunately, I believe that Obama’s “centrist” positions and constant attempts to “compromise” with the “tea partiers” has made it all the more possible for their dream to come true.  For example, I know that Obama is assuming that I’m going to vote for him (even though he doesn’t answer my letters of protest to some of his decision-making :o), but do you think he’s given much thought to the “Black Community?”  Does he think Blacks are going to vote for him simply because of the color of HIS skin?  Personally, I believe that is not only a mistake, but also demeaning to the Black community as well.  All the while we’ve been enduring this endless “debate” in Washington over things like the “debt ceiling” and such, the cities in America continue to deteriorate.  The roads and bridges continue to deteriorate.  The schools and public buildings, especially in the less affluent sections of America, continue to deteriorate.  And, I’m convinced there’s MILLIONS of Americans ready, able, and willing to help turn things in another direction.  But, what is missing?

I’ll tell you what I believe is missing: LEADERSHIP!  Maybe the best way I can explain what I’m thinking about this VOID of leadership can be summed up by telling what happened at a town hall meeting a few years ago when I confronted my then democratic representative in congress.  He gave his “shpeel” and I happened to be standing right next to where his assistant put the mike when it was time for comments and questions from the audience.  The year was 2007 and democrats had just taken control of the House of Representatives.  My congressperson, Brian Baird, had just returned from a trip to Iraq and our military leaders had convinced him to vote for the “surge” because we “owed it to the Iraqi’s.”  Of course, democrats had just been voted control of the house because the American public wanted troops OUT of Iraq (we’re still there 5 years later – does that say it all about what the American public wants versus what it gets from its leaders?) but I could see that would be a futile argument.  So, I pointed out to Mr. Baird MANY of the illegal deeds of Bush/Cheney not the least of which was all the LYING that got us embroiled in Iraq in the first place along with the TORTURING and I suggested IMPEACHMENT.  There were about a thousand people at the meeting, it was on local TV (that’s where I got the “flaming liberal” moniker) and the crowd burst out into LOUD and spontaneous applause and even cheering.  Baird was a bit taken aback and he pointed out that the Senate would never convict.  I responded that was irrelevant – the House’s duty had nothing to do with conviction, their obligation was to charge the president and vice president if they’ve committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” – failing to act due to what the senate MIGHT do, well that was political cowardice (loud cheers again) at which time I was removed from the mike and there was no further response coming from Mr. Baird.

I use that example because it appears to me that President Obama has acted in a somewhat similar “paralyzed” manner, evidently anticipating the republican obstructionism before it happens – allowing that to influence his positions and propositions accordingly.  For example, it has appeared to me that President Obama has done some negotiating amongst himself and his advisers prior to putting forth his proposals – thereby ALWAYS appearing to be negotiating from a position of weakness!  Like, “there’s no chance they’ll agree to this, but maybe we can get this” type of thinking.  Of course, those of us watching on the “sidelines” have long since realized they (republicans) aren’t going to agree to anything – unless they’re convinced their job is on the line.  That is, there is NO CHANCE they are going to agree to ANYTHING which might allow Obama some success – their stated (repeatedly) objective is that he would FAIL, but the president MUST make the RIGHT proposals just the same.  It is the voters who can help him get the CORRECT agenda through – by now, he should understand that the republicans ONLY want him to FAIL – and, he’s playing right into their hands.

Since Obama has been president I have seen little to suggest he is cognizant of the desperate conditions in America’s cities among people of “color.”  The unemployment rate among Blacks is estimated to be nearly twice the national average – approaching 16%.  The rate of unemployment among younger Americans is around 25% by some figures I’ve seen.  Everyone knows the issues with people losing their homes and MILLIONS of workers being UNDEREMPLOYED.  The president MUST demonstrate more empathy for this situation and FIGHT for MORE stimulus to generate JOBS, especially in the downtrodden areas of America’s cities (OK, there are MANY rural areas that need an infusion of capital as well). I’m not suggesting the Blacks will abandon President Obama, but what I’m saying is that it would be just as wrong for him to leave the impression with Blacks that he’s taking their support for granted as it is that he’s left that impression with liberals (such as myself).

Yes, we’ve got a republican House which is not going to agree to ANYTHING which attempts to spend government money to stimulate employment (especially for Blacks and Latinos) and, even if something made it through the House, Mitch McConnell and the republicans in the Senate would continue to abuse the “modern” FILIBUSTER rule (you no longer must stand on the floor of the Senate and talk endlessly – evidently, that would be too tiresome for our “elite” Senators) to make sure that there is NO help for our economy prior to November of 2012.  That all being the case IS NOT reason for Obama to FAIL to ATTEMPT pushing through programs designed to stimulate job growth.

While I believe a large portion of the American public are either uninformed about the realities of the political quagmire in Washington DC, or too busy trying to help their families keep their heads “above water,” or simply disinterested, or brainwashed by the likes of Fox “news,” Rush Limbaugh, etc., I also believe that there are millions across the country waiting to do what the people of Wisconsin have done in response to republican abuses of power.  What we need is a courageous leader – and, by default it either needs to be President Obama – or he should step aside and allow other democrats to fill the void.  Obama MUST take a course of action similar to the Truman strategy by putting forth legislation which the republicans will vote down, but that he can then campaign on, not only for himself in 2012, but almost more importantly AGAINST the republican obstructionsists in congress!  He had the opportunity to show the American people their (republicans) true colors when he took office, but he chose to look the other way from all the illegal activity of the Bush administration.  That was a “green light” for these republicans and their supporters who NOW will say anything – with ABSOLUTELY no regard for the reality of what is happening.  Republicans were blaming Obama for the deficit prior to him taking the oath of office – and, he hasn’t figured out that the only acceptable response to them is to FIGHT back!  I’ve said this many times; This is a WAR for the heart and soul of America. (I hate to admit this, but Hillary Clinton was right when she stated that Obama would not be “up” to dealing with the ferocity of the republican party)

In my view, a great place to start would be proposals to deal with the terrible job situation among “minorities” in our inner cities.  The cities need to be rebuilt and modernized and their are MILLIONS of Americans in those cities who desperately need jobs.  Many others besides myself have been HARPING on the need to modernize our infrastructure NATIONALLY since Obama was elected.  In 2008 it was estimated the cost of bringing our roads and bridges up to code would be 2.2 TRILLION dollars.  That would have generated MILLIONS of jobs and BILLIONS or TRILLIONS in government revenue (you know, the one thing republicans don’t want to see happening).  And, these proposals don’t need to be financed by borrowing more money (although that would be preferable to the austerity measures being discussed in congress as of this writing).  There’s a couple easy ways to generate money that SHOULD be acceptable to the VAST majority of Americans.

Let’s start with Wall Street – you know, the place where politicians “fear to tread.”  A 25% of one penny tax on each share traded on Wall Street would generate much of the money needed to jump start the economy – plus, it might discourage SOME of the speculative trading that is manipulating the market and putting so many long term investors (like retirement funds, etc.) in jeopardy of losing money. Along with that, repeal the “Bush Tax Cuts” and use the funds to first finance the jobs bills and then to reduce the deficit.  Additionally, President Obama could come to his senses and bring ALL the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan – along with many of the troops stationed in so MANY places around the world.  Of course, bringing all these troops home would simply make the jobs crisis even greater, so America would have to make a national commitment to modernize and become competitive in the GREEN economy that is clearly where the future growth lies.

Right now, we are allowing the Chinese and other foreign nations to use our technology to take the lead in manufacturing things like solar and wind energy equipment.  We’re going to run out of fuel (for our cars and trucks) at some point – and, are we going to allow people like Rick Perry and Sarah Palin to talk us into ignoring the climate change issue – until it’s too late to do anything about it?  There, in my opinion, are MILLIONS of people – just like myself – “chomping on the bit”to get behind a leader who aggressively pursues policies designed to jump start and enlarge our workforce (middle class) and “tackle” the environmental issues that will put our nation at peril should we continue to ignore them.  President Obama could bridge the partisan divide through proposing progressive actions that would ignite his “base,” thus giving the American people the opportunity to solve these massive problems through collective actions – yes, that’s correct – stop negotiating with republicans!  The “Change I can believe in” doesn’t include ANY ideas that have been put forth by republicans!  The sooner Obama realizes this is “WAR”  the better his chances for re-election!