COLUMN: Pres. Obama should not be above criticism
There are certain things in the world I just can’t stand.
I can’t stand exaggerated stories; I can’t stand callousness; I can’t stand cockiness; I can’t stand it when people make race the central issue.
But at the moment, the thing I honestly can’t stand the most is the fact that President Barack Obama has created such a visible aura that it’s considered offensive and unpatriotic to even think about vocally criticizing the president.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m about as much of a left-wing, liberal-leaning Democrat as you can find.
I voted for Obama in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election because I felt he was the better candidate over Republican nominee Sen. John McCain.
Hell, lock me in a room with Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity and watch the chaos, arguments, violence and bloodshed ensue.
But let it be known that had I been of legal age to vote in the Oklahoma Democratic Primary in February 2008, my vote would not have been cast for Obama but in favor of Sen. Hillary Clinton instead.
My problem doesn’t lie completely on the public’s unwillingness to challenge the president, but also on Obama’s apparent inability to focus on more than one issue at a time.
Although I would agree the economy and a national health care plan are important issues to tackle in the nation currently, I find it absurd to think about the minimal steps Obama has taken to even address “important” issues that he railed on during his campaign, such as alternative energy, education or gay rights.
The fact that these issues have been relatively ignored by the president doesn’t sit well with me. And the perpetuation of the theory that he’ll eventually get around to them after he covers more important matters doesn’t do a thing to calm my nerves or my frustrations.
It’s been over a year now. Maybe it’s about time to get around to them.
Frankly, just to get it off my chest, Obama’s stand on promoting “clean coal” is about as helpful as the stance of “keep drilling for oil.”
Do some research and it’s easy enough to read about the dirty secrets of this so-called energy alternative. There is no such thing as clean coal because the natural resource is in fact a huge contributor to ground-level pollution and global warming.
Just ask the residents of Harriman, Tenn., about the toxic ash and conditions left over from a clean coal spill last year.
But beyond the president’s political platform, my disappointment is with the lack of criticism and objection directed toward Obama, unless you happen to be a Fox News commentator or host.
Everything Obama does is seemingly “unprecedented,” as stated repeatedly by his press secretary, publicists and in the thousands of articles written about the president since he entered the national political scene after being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
It feels like a public love affair exists with Obama, and I’m one of the few not smitten with a crush.
The awe of Obama seems especially evident in two of the areas that I principally consider myself a part of: the 18-24 age voting group and the news media outlets.
I can’t even begin to explain how extremely disheartened it is to know that my generation, my friends and my co-workers are inherently unwilling to make their concerns known simply because Obama is allegedly considered a step-up from former President George W. Bush.
During Bush’s time in the White House, particularly his second term, there was no hesitation by anyone on whether it was inappropriate or acceptable to criticize the president. The act seemed like an unquestioned given.
Whether it be the war in Iraq, the public blunders or the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, attacks and wheels-off comments were expected from every angle.
I’m certainly not defending the actions and steps taken by Bush during his presidency, but wondering where that same apprehensiveness and assessment has gone now that Obama is in charge.
But since we’ve finally moved on from the goofiness and missteps of the Bush administration, we can cut Obama some slack because, you know what, at least he’s not as embarrassing as our previous president.
I don’t believe that though. I’m sick and tired of people assuming that if you disagree with the president or his policies that you’re somehow unpatriotic.
As Americans and the leaders of tomorrow, we have the right and the duty to say the shit that is on our minds.
Maybe at some point, more people will come to the realization that it can never be wrong to scrutinize Obama’s policies and stances.
I just hope that point comes sooner rather than later.
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You lost me at left-wing Democrat. Don't you mean center-right Democrat. Or is there a new party out there confusing called Democrat that is left wing?
i agree with you on him not doing enough to uphold all his promises, but i disagree with the fact that he doesn't get criticism. have you watched fox, did you know he has to have double the protection of bush. yet bush was much worse and to say something bad about him would get you tortured and locked up in gitmo. or he would let half your state be wiped out by a flood,
Seriously? Obama is criticized all the time. Fox News has a front page story on their website nearly every day saying something negative about President Obama or someone in his administration. Have you noticed his poll numbers dropping? This probably indicates someone is criticizing him. Maybe you need to broaden you horizons a bit if you really believe this. If you think everyone is having an Obama lovefest, you should get out of your bubble.
something else: why is it when a white person criticizes obama, the white person is label 'racist?'
I'd like to point out to the other people commenting that the author specifically said "aside from Fox News." Meaning that yes, Fox News criticizes Obama, but few others do.
During the election season, I was completely in favor of Obama. I still stand behind him, I believe he's making some good steps in the right direction, and was, overall, a good decision for our country. Nonetheless, I agree wholeheartedly that he needs to focus on more than one subject at a time.
One of my best friends is a die-hard Obama fan and will not let any criticism of him pass without getting upset. Yes, there's still an "Obama lovefest" going on. But there are also the haters. In fact, I think we actually have three groups emerging: those who have hated him from the beginning, those who supported him and are still die-hard fans, and those who supported him originally but are now somewhat neutral, or have completely lost their interest in politics now that the election has passed. The trick is to get that third group to vocalize themselves again. Political apathy was an issue during the Bush presidency, too, though; it's not unique to Obama's presidency. It's become a somewhat permanent state for Americans and is definitely something that needs to be fixed.
"the fact that President Barack Obama has created such a visible aura that it’s considered offensive and unpatriotic to even think about vocally criticizing the president."
Is that a fact? If so, there are a bunch of offensive and unpatriotic people out there.
The problem is that, unlike GWB, Obama's criticism started before he even took office. GWB's took a while to really get going. There was constant criticizing with no basis other than the fact he was a socialist/Muslim/non-US citizen, etc, which was ridiculous. There seems to be a bit of tide turning now to where people are criticizing actual policies, which is fine.
So, your real point should have been that you hate it when actual policy criticism of Obama is taken as racism and is lumped with all of the ridiculous personal attacks that were so prevalent earlier this year.
Hi! Hyper-Liberal here. I'm distressed that Obama is not nearly as liberal as promised. He's about the level of George Bush Sr.
"I can't stand it when people make race the central issue"
I don't know your racial identity, Ricky, but that's awfully narrow of you. I like bruenig, couldn't get past the first few sentences!
This is what it sounds like:
"Oh, I'm just so sick of hearing about discrimination and prejudice and just hearing not-nice things I'd rather not think about because my privileged world is too pretty to mess up!"
Being the first black identified President, I have a hard time believing race would not be a central issue in discussions about Obama's criticism and approval. You must be one of those people who think we live in a "post-racism" world. Makes me sick.
I've seen plenty of jokes at Obama's expense on The Daily Show and the Colbert Report, which are arguably the most leftist news outlets aside from the grand master of communism himself -- Bill Maher. I suppose I could have appreciated the column if it weren't for the conclusion... I don't understand why you'd say something if you don't believe it... O and there was a typo. It seemed more like a drunken rant to me. Bravo. But that's the tone set when you start with a resounding "there are some things I just can't stand in this world" and end with "as leaders of tomorrow we need to spew s***."
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