This week, President Obama decided to cancel campaign appearances on both Wednesday and Thursday so that he could huddle in the White House and monitor the emerging Ebola crisis.
In other words, the president has finally decided to act presidential and, surprise, surprise, it’s right before next month’s mid-term elections.
The president has demonstrated that he has an inability to shepherd the country through crises. As disheartening as that is, what’s even more baffling is his unwillingness, as of late, to even look like he’s trying.
Take for instance the situation at the Texas border; unaccompanied minors were marching towards the U.S. amid the veiled promise of citizenship promoted by this administration’s flawed immigration policies. American border towns were flooded with illegal minors, and officials were left scrambling for solutions. It turned into serious humanitarian crisis as the kids were basically warehoused.
In an odd coincidence, the president was scheduled for three fundraisers in Texas during a week in July that attention over the dislocated children was reaching its peak. Texas lawmakers, including Gov. Rick Perry, urged the president to visit the border and witnessed what his own administration described as a humanitarian crisis.
In a maddeningly frustrating decision, the president declined, instead opting to duck into the state for two days to raise cash and then leave without seeing the impact his flawed immigration promises had brought.
Fast forward to a little later that month when MH-17 had been shot down near the Russian-Ukranian border. This had all the makings of a major global crisis, including obvious evidence of Russian involvement.
Making matters worse, there were even reports of an American onboard the flight that eventually, and thankfully, proved to be false.
Still, with the possibility still lingering that one of his countrymen was killed at the hands of pro-Putin forces, the president again showed a grotesque ambivalence, departing the White House for New York within the immediate hours of the tragedy for, you guessed it, another fundraiser.
And who can forget the now famous vacation from Hell? You know, the one Mr. Obama took to Martha’s Vineyard in August when American journalist James Foley was brutally executed and Ferguson, Missouri proved to be a tinderbox.
And how did Mr. Obama respond to these crises? Well, on the night Ferguson grew violent, Mr. Obama was photographed dancing the night away, and minutes after delivering a hollow statement on Foley’s death, Mr. Obama decided to go golfing. Sure, the president’s entitled to some downtime, yet a real leader knows when to play and when to be serious. Mr. Obama seemed almost bothered by these crises, and his statements seemed almost obligatory.
This of course is a long list of offenses, but it raises a serious question: What’s the difference between the Ebola threat, which Mr. Obama’s own White House is saying has a slim chance of hurting more Americans, and those that the president blew off?
The answer is, proximity to the midterm elections. This is a clear last ditch effort to gain support from disillusioned Democrats who will likely stay ay home this November.
That’s a scary thought. It seems like Mr. Obama is more afraid of elections than he is the true threats facing this country. That would explain why he waited until the 2012 election to share his true thoughts on gay marriage and now promises to wait until after the midterm elections to bring about what promises to be controversial immigration reform.
In the meantime, I’m sure Mr. Obama will spend the rest of October trying to shape up his act in a last ditch effort to mitigate this November’s oncoming train wreck, but it’s too little too late. Americans are already know the real Barack Obama and will be thinking of his party when they head to the polls.
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