Failure Of Leadership

The very fact that America is in its current “Debt Crisis” and seeking to, once again, raise it’s own debt ceiling is an example of a willful and utter failure of leadership. Rather than behave responsibly, the politicians in Washington D.C. have chosen to continue to make America reliant upon foreign financial aid and to burden our children and our children’s children with crushing debt owed to foreign powers.

The above was Obama’s stridently voiced opinion when President Bush Jr. was POTUS:

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure,” he said. “It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.

— Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), March 20, 2006

Then-Senator Obama then voted, along with 47 other Senators, against the proposed debt ceiling increase. The joint resolution ended up narrowly passing 52 – 48.

Since then, of course, Obama’s public opinion has rather dramatically reversed. Now he and his coterie seem to feel that not raising the debt ceiling would be a failure of leadership.

In January, 2011 the White House was questioned on this turnabout of position. The response from Obama’s mouthpiece, Robert Gibbs revealed quite a lot about Obama’s “character” and his “positions” on issues.

Asked about that quote – and vote — today, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that it was important that “based on the outcome of that vote…the full faith and credit was not in doubt.”

Then-Sen. Obama used the vote “to make a point about needing to get serious about fiscal discipline….His vote was not necessarily needed on that.”

So Obama was against the debt ceiling increase when being so would have no near-term consequences that might affect his chances of keeping his job in the US Senate. One must presume that he is for it now for similar reasons since failing to raise the debt ceiling would definitely have near-term consequences – or so his cabal keep telling us – that would negatively impact his continued employment.

Unsurprisingly, this being an election year, Obama has further “clarified” his position on the matter and no longer believes that even token speeches of dissent or unneeded votes of conscience against raising the debt ceiling are appropriate.

Press secretary Jay Carney said that “the president, as David Plouffe said yesterday, regrets that vote and thinks it was a mistake. He realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote that, even when you are protesting an administration’s policies, you can play around with, and you need to take very seriously the need to raise the debt limit so that the full faith and credit of the United States government is maintained around the globe.”

Don’t mistake either my point or Obama’s position. He was not “against it before he was for it.” His position has always been the same, to be elected and reelected. Obama, the Campaigner-in-Chief has no firmly held positions or agendas beyond that or, at least, none that supersede that self-centered and narcissistic core goal.

Like most Liberals Obama’s ideology falls by the wayside whenever pursuing it would force him to make sacrifices or put his personal circumstances at risk. Sacrifices are things that other people should be forced to make for the “greater good.”

~*~

Keep your eyes open. Travel light but load heavy, and always put another round in the enemy after they’re down. 😉

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3 Responses to “Failure Of Leadership”

  1. Alan Scott Says:

    This is slightly off topic, but there is an article in the LA Times bragging about the record amount Obama has raised for reelection. Our President does not seem to have a debt crisis, with his campaign. The rich Liberals throwing money at him need to have ‘their’ taxes raised.

  2. jonolan Says:

    Well, the Campaigner-in-Chief is good at that sort of thing, though I think that the LA Times is deliberately overstating the “small donor” contributions since all previous evidence suggests that Obama has been going after big corporate donors so far since the economy is in the tank.

  3. Alan Scott Says:

    I am having a hard time believing the hedge fund guys are all lining up to support Obama like in 2008 . They thought he was a Marxist in name only . Now they know the truth . But as in 08 there is no way to really track Barry’s big donors . And hedge funds make a lot of money betting against things . If Obama gets reelected they will make a ton of money shorting America . With the stalemate in DC, maybe the trade off in possible higher taxes is worth it .

    I know Obama’s website did not keep track of foreign donors last time . Maybe all of America’s enemies are financing our loser in chief .

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