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Thursday, January 12, 2017

IN EIGHT DAYS OUR EIGHT-YEAR-LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE WILL FINALLY BE OVER…


On Tuesday night I subjected myself to listening to as much of Barry’s 'farewell' speech as my poor stomach would allow.  Which really wasn’t for very long.  It seemed like his time in office was never going to come to an end, and I worried if America would actually survive.  And now that it’s almost over it’s amazing how fast the last few years have gone by.  And while I suppose we can say the country has survived, I think we can also say that it has been severely scarred, and to the degree that it may never fully recover.  Barry, the man who has embraced "change" throughout his presidency, used the word 16 times in his ‘farewell’ speech, but he did not directly mention the change Americans embraced in this past November by voting for Donald Trump.  At times, Barry -- the "hoax and chains" president -- seemed to warn against the kind of change Trump has promised.

I’m sure it can go without saying that Barry received a rousing reception from the many devoted followers who had assembled to herald his return to his hometown of Chicago, "where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it."  After extolling America's "bold experiment in self-government," Barry noted that Americans, "through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union."  Barry went on to say, "So that's what we mean when we say America is exceptional -- not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change and make life better for those who follow."  Barry also noted that "the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not just some."

In recounting what he views as being his many ‘accomplishments’ -- including job creation, "marriage equality," and the Iran weapons deal -- Barry told Americans, "You were the change. You answered people's hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started."  Later in his speech, Barry said the nation must "uphold laws against discrimination." And he went on to say, "But laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight.  Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change."  And it was twice that Barry used the word "change" in connection with "climate change."  And here he seemed to have a message for President-elect Trump, who has been skeptical of human-caused climate change.  But it’s Trump who represents the millions of us who view ‘climate change’ as being nothing more than a leftwing scam.

And it was when he got to the point in his speech where he started talking about ‘climate change’ that’s when I decided I had heard enough.  Barry said, "Take the challenge of climate change."  And then he said, "In just eight years, we've halved our dependence on foreign oil; we've doubled our renewable energy; we've led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet.  But without bolder action, our children won't have time to debate the existence of climate change. They'll be busy dealing with its effects: more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary. Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country -- the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders."

And I would find out the next morning how it was that during his rambling speech about himself and what a wonderful job he has done as our president, Barry made what was an apparent swipe at Russia.  Barry noted that "autocrats in foreign capitals" are challenging the "post-World War II order" by viewing "free markets and open democracies and and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what's true and what's right."

And I’m also told there were several instances where Barry talked about "the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change."  And it was in speaking directly to the Americans who have supported his agenda that he had said "every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change, you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will forever be grateful. Because you did change the world."  And it was in his message to young people that Barry said, "you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, that it’s not something to fear but something to embrace; you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands."  And in a message to "my fellow Americans," Barry said he had one final thing to ask of them -- "the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours."  

Barry ended his speech with his old campaign slogan, "Yes we can," adding, "Yes we did," then a final "Yes we can."  And when it was all said and done Barry had referred to himself more than 70 times in his farewell address.  Barry heavily promoted the speech, penning a blog post about it and appearing in a promotional video in the days leading up to the address.  Barry said “I” 33 times during the speech, “my” 20 times, “me” 10 times, and “I’m” or “I’ve” 12 times.  Barry has made a habit of focusing large chunks of his speeches on himself during his eight years in office.  Last July, for example, he mentioned himself 45 times over the course of a speech given at a speech for the slain Dallas police officers.  Yet in his silly little blog post promoting the speech, Barry encouraged Americans to tune in “because, for me, it’s always been about you.”  Oh really?

Much has been said about what Barry’s true and lasting legacy will be.  Will it be the decimation of his party, where under his ‘leadership’ his party has not only now lost the White House, but the Senate, the House, 12 Governorships, 13 Senate seats, 69 House seats, and an overall 1042 State and National seats.  Republicans now hold 33 governorships vs Democrats 17 and Republicans hold governorship and both houses of State Legislature in 25 States vs Democrats 5.  But then there’s his legacy of lies about keeping your doctor, keeping your healthcare and his using the IRS to target enemies.  Remember his claim that there wasn't a smidgen of corruption in the IRS and how he would restore trust in government and his would be the most transparent administration in history?  The sad fact is that never before in our history has America had a president who so hated her and all for which she stands. 

As for a little trivia, Barry's farewell address on Tuesday night was longer than the combined length of the three two-term presidents who have preceded him — George W. Bush, ‘Slick Willy’ Clinton and Ronald Reagan.  The lengths of those three speeches were 21 minutes for Ronald Reagan, 13 minutes for George Bush and just 7 minutes for the old ‘Slickmeister.’  Meanwhile, Barry “Almighty” came in at 51 minutes.  Barry also broke from tradition by holding his address outside of the White House, electing to return to Chicago to do it in front of 18,000 at the convention center.  No surprise there I suppose, when you’ve got an ego as big as what this guy has, a simple speech given from behind the desk in the Oval Office simply won’t do.  Such a venue would come nowhere near to measuring up to ‘stature’ of the speaker.  However, I was surprised they didn’t bring the Roman columns out of mothballs.   

And it’s what I view as being a rather fitting quote about Barry yet written over 2000 years ago that says, "A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. For the traitor appears not as a traitor, but speaks in accents familiar to its citizens and wears their face and their arguments. He appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation and works secretly to undermine the pillars of the city, infecting the body politic so it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared" (Cicero 106-43 BC).  It’s almost as if they had Barry in mind at the time these prophetic words were uttered.  But these words can also serve as a reminder that there have been other men like Barry, and there most certainly will be others.

I feel that Barry was desperately hoping to have a legacy that would have more closely resembled that of Ronald Reagan.  But one that was based on a doomed Statist political philosophy that can never produce anything but greater oppression, loss of liberty, a collectively poorer nation, more poverty, and misery among its citizens, while ultimately benefitting only the ruling elites that exempt themselves from the very standards that inflict this misery on others.  Barry continues to peddle his message of ‘hope and change’; but not a hope grounded in the inherent greatness and genius of "We the People", ordinary citizens, who, if allowed to keep the fruits of their labors and kept free from big government social engineering and meddling, could achieve great things, but rather a hope grounded in a supposed benevolent big statist government, an institution which does not, and cannot, ever exist.

But like all despot, dictator wannabes, the johnny-come-lately is always self-deceived into thinking that he somehow knows better than the rest of us, but when met with the inevitable failure, resorts to rationalizing and blaming others, but never comes to question the legitimacy of his own political philosophy. The ‘hope and change’ that Barry “Almighty” offered us ended up pitting American against American, based on race, sexual preference and economic status; it created chaos and despair among all but the most blind Statist loyalists.  It's the very ‘hope and change’ that we didn't need, or will ever need, and the very type no nation should ever desire.  So regarding Barry, despite his obsession to have his own legacy that would come to be judged the equal of Ronald Reagan’s, there is one thing that is absolutely certain: he, Barry “Almighty”, is most definitely no Ronald Reagan.

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