Being Cool Doesn't Make Obama Worthy

I have been saying and writing for the last month or so that Obama needs blacks, Hispanics, and young people in order to get reelected. To that end he is pulling tricks out of the bag with one hand, hoping people aren’t watching or paying attention to what he’s doing with the other hand. But people need to be smarter than that.

I recently saw a poll from January that said 62 percent of the people surveyed said they like the president. Personally, I’d like to know who those people are, but I digress. Here’s my point: Obama is using that likability as a tool among the groups that I referenced to get reelected. Unfortunately, what these groups are missing is that him being likable is not synonymous with him being capable of running the country.

What has liking him done for the so-called black community? How much better off are blacks today than they were under Bush or Clinton? Are more blacks working under Obama? Are more blacks graduating from college with marketable grades and degrees under Obama? How has liking him helped Hispanics? What has he done to reinforce the family matrix that is so cherished among Hispanics? Has liking him prevented his assault on Catholicism? Hispanics more than any other population group have strong, deep ties to the Catholic Church and the Pentecostal Church. Has liking him made his attacks on the Church more palatable?

Young people, especially those in college, think Obama’s cool, but how does him being cool create into a benefit for them? How does him being cool help your classmates who are victims of violent crimes? Crimes perpetrated by protected minorities (which his Justice department refuses to even so much as investigate) help you? How does it make you feel to know that a person with lower scores is awarded a scholarship because the school needs more of another particular color than it does of yours?

Obama might be cool but how does that help you find a job when you graduate? He might be cool but how long can you accept his claims that it isn’t his fault there are no jobs? Obama might be cool and he might be likable, but how does that help your parents who are watching their life’s retirement savings evaporate because of bad government policies? How much of the money your parents had invested in General Motors have they been able to recoup?


Obama might be cool and likable, but it is a fact that he has spent more in three years than all presidents combined. He spent more in his first 19 months than all presidents from Washington to Reagan. It is a fact that he more than doubled the national debt in less than a full term. That national debt is on your ledger–does it bother you, have you given thought to how this debt will be paid down? Have you given serious thought pursuant to what that means for your future? You may applaud having the interest on your student loans reduced for a year, but how will that help you get a job, purchase a home, or afford a better life? If your parents–who worked their entire lives and counted on their retirement income to provide a comfortable life when they retired–now find themselves unable to do so, what do you believe you can reasonably expect in your lifetime?

Extending unemployment benefits is not a jobs plan. Increasing taxes on the so-called rich might sound like a great idea when your professor is espousing same in the classroom, but if you are graduating college with student loans, car payments, and credit card debt–and you are fortunate enough to find a good-paying job–keep in mind that those tax increases will be coming out of your own pockets, as well.

This election, actually, no election, should be a referendum on likability: it must be about accountability and capability. Obama has blamed Bush since taking office, but blaming Bush doesn’t create jobs. He has blamed Republicans–but he doesn’t mention that his party held both Houses of Congress with veto-proof margins for his first two years in office. If he is reelected, and things continue to decline (and all indications are both things will happen), will he still blame Bush?

I like my mechanic, he is competent and engaging. He has started a business, and he has not only created jobs, but his business sustains other jobs precisely because of his garage, but I wouldn’t vote for him to be president.

Obama is trying to manipulate people into equating cool and likable with worthy and capable–and his being president–and he is doing it to your grave misfortune. But don’t take my word for it. Make an honest, unemotional assessment for yourself. Don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself. It won’t make you a bad person because you make a responsible decision that is counter to that of your friends or even your family. Do you think it makes you a bad person to make the decision to not drive drunk just because your friends drive drunk? Do you think it makes you a bad person or a sell out to not do drugs or drive your friends around to sell or purchase drugs just because they do it?

Making a wise decision based on what is best for your future is what being a responsible adult is all about.