The Luckiest Dude

Jon Stewart is right: Barack Obama is the luckiest dude in America.  Any other candidate shouldered with today’s economic statistics wouldn’t stand a chance of being re-elected. The official unemployment rate is about 8.3%, a rate that would normally kill a candidate’s campaign. The real unemployment rate is far higher. Government statistics don’t account for the thousands who have already burned through 99 weeks of unemployment checks. The official statistics also fail to capture the true impact of all those who are grossly under-employed. These are the facts that DNC shills like Al Sharpton and Ed Schultz like to omit when they beat their chests about all the jobs that Mr. Obama has “created”. 

Were it not for Ben Bernanke printing money faster than it can be spent, Mr. Obama’s statistics might rival those of a former President with whom I compared Obama in June 2008 (BEFORE he was nominated): one Jimmy Carter. Like Mr. Carter, Mr. Obama promised to change Washington culture. Not surprisingly, Mr. Obama started handing out the goodies to his contributors right away. Washington is as rife with lobbyists as it ever was. He named Tim Geithner to be Secretary of the Treasury, which is no different from asking the obese guy to guard the Twinkies. While Mr. Carter chose to ignore Congress, Mr. Obama has chosen to defer to Congress instead. He lets Congress determine the agenda – a Congress where the Republican majority has stated publicly that their primary goal is to deny Mr. Obama whatever he asks for.  A real LEADER would have used the bully pulpit and taken his case to the people on a daily basis in order to put pressure on the GOP (especially leading up to mid-term elections in 2010). Unfortunately, the “cool”, “aloof” Obama doesn’t like to get his hands dirty; he prefers speaking in platitudes.

I have described Mr. Obama in these pages as feckless and spineless. This is commentary on his leadership skills. On a personal level, he seems like a wonderfully charming human being, the kind of guy I’d spend time hanging out with. His oratorical skills are masterful. Unfortunately, given the mess he walked into, these traits aren’t enough for me, or for our country.

Based on all the above, he should get creamed in November. He won’t. He’ll get at least 54% of the popular vote and will exceed 300 electoral votes. Why?

The Republicans nominated Eddie Haskell.

Ah, the luck of the Irish.