Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeOpinionHope for Change in Presidents

Hope for Change in Presidents

- advertisement -

It is rather amusing to see people struggling to find ways to continue to support President Barack Obama and his administration. As of late, his approval rating has been steadily sinking, currently sitting around 39 percent (the lowest ever was probably George W. Bush at 19 percent). One could subjectively fill an entire Harry Potter series of books — perhaps even more — of the utter failures, disappointments and unconstitutional actions of our current president, the so-called “savior of America.”

When President Barack Obama first stumbled onto the political stage, he was essentially a nobody; he was just another Senator from Illinois looking to make a name in American politics. However, he became a dark horse of sorts. Essentially coming out of nowhere, he stormed the political stage in 2008 and was elected President of the United States, beating out Hilary Clinton and then eventually John McCain in a landslide of 365-173.

His 2008 campaign focused on the idea of “Change,” particularly change for a nation mired in economic collapse and political instability. Barack Obama, by some (Newsweek), was hailed as the second coming of Jesus Christ, a ludicrous statement to say the least.

Politicians have never had a good name attached to their profession. Much like lawyers, politicians have been associated with such terms as scoundrels, liars, imbeciles, and the like. Barack Obama not only epitomizes the perception of “politician,” but has taken it to an entirely different stratum. There seems to be a lack of words in the English vocabulary harsher than idiotic to appropriately define his career.

A quick look at politifact.com and one can see the staggering amount of broken promises that he has committed. Most recently, the promise that you could “Keep your plan” has been the most talked about as millions upon millions are currently being kicked out of their insurance plans. We could belittle this fact for ages but that’s not the purpose of this article.

A common belief is that the POTUS is supposedly the “most powerful man in the nation” (perhaps even the world depending on who you talk to). Barack Obama simply doesn’t embody this, but has lived it every day of his administration unfortunately. When the Founding Fathers conceptualized our fine nation, they theorized a political system that worked on checks and balances, meaning there was to be a trilateral governmental system, each branch balanced by the others.

With the election of George W. Bush and subsequently Barack Obama, this balance has not only been broken but now swings completely in the direction of the executive branch. The nation was born as a reaction to the tyranny of the British Crown, yet now we are experiencing a reversion back to that tyranny under Obama.

What is absolutely appalling is the fact that Congress has had so many opportunities to impeach him, yet they haven’t. The fact that Obama is impeachable is cause enough for concern. It only gets worse since Congress seems to not have the drive do anything against our dictator. From violating our Bill of Rights and the provisions promised therein (invasion of privacy through the NSA, gun confiscation, censorship, etc.), to enacting laws violating our Constitution, Obama continues to strip power away from the people with a smile. It is absolutely disgusting. It’s rather ironic that this man used to be a lawyer and teacher of Constitutional law, yet still finds it appropriate to issue Executive Orders which are wholly unconstitutional. We could also belabor the myriad of other unconstitutional actions this man has committed, but that isn’t the point either.

The point is there is a certain standard we expect from our presidents. We expect presidents that are wholly representative of the people, not fueled by political and monetary interests. We expect a president to follow through with the promises that he makes, not one who constantly lies to get votes. We expect a president that treats the office of POTUS with respect and humility, not like a shiny new toy that he can play around with. Most importantly, we expect a president to progress our fine nation, not leave it to deteriorate while he smirks.

From the NSA scandal to Benghazi, from his undeserved Nobel Peace Prize to his disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act (and everything in between), we have so much to abhor about our president. The goal isn’t that Congress and the American populace needs to wake up and see this dictator for who he is and impeach him before he takes our fine nation off the rails; rather, we the people need to revisit George Washington’s farewell address where he warned of the dangers of political parties, going into extreme debt, and entanglement in foreign affairs. Had he been alive today and still in the political landscape, Obama would have been long gone back to Kenya (if you believe that sort of thing) by now.

 

David Vu is a fourth-year public health policy major. He can be reached at davidnv@uci.edu.