Praise for the President appears more like Desperation

As I read through the various news feeds over the weekend I stumble across a number of different articles that seemed to share a common thread, that being that last week was history making for President Obama.  One article I read inferred that the week secured the president’s legacy while another called the week Obama’s best ever.  In each of the articles there was praise given to a president for a number big ticket items that culminated throughout the week.

But is President Obama in fact worthy of the praise that is being doled out to him for the highlights of last week’s news cycle?   When you put in to perspective the impact or influence that the president may have had on any of these events, one would be hard pressed to conclude that he was.

Let’s take for instance the presidents reaction to Friday’s Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage and his history on the subject.  Following the ruling the president tweets:

 "Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #LoveWins."

This reaction is in line with the president’s 2012 flip flop which now puts him in support of gay marriage.  Hey, we all grow right and certainly Obama is not the first president to conveniently “evolve” their positions on a hot button issue.   However, this is not the first time that the president has flip flopped on this particular topic. 

Back when Obama was running for the Illinois State Senate he was questioned by a Chicago based gay newspaper as to his position on gay marriage.  Obama answered that he supported gay marriage and that he would fight any effort to prohibit such.  It was just a couple of years later that Obama shifted to an “undecided” position on gay marriage which later then evolved in to the position that he supported civil unions but not gay marriage, a position he held during his 2004 run for the US Senate.  Obama has provided a number or explanations to his constant shifting on the position of gay marriage over the years, none of which holds much water but of course are accepted by his devout supporters.

As for the Supreme Court’s decision in support of gay marriage this past Friday, I don’t think we can honestly consider President Obama’s two decades of flip flopping position on the matter to be credible and certainly not worthy of any praise being given to him by the media and his supporters.  His ever changing position on the matter of gay marriage proves that he is either indecisive or that his actions are politically motivated.  Neither is a very attractive trait in a leader.


And what about Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling on King vs Burwell.  The left has claimed this as a major victory that has sealed the president’s legacy.  Someone somehow concluded that this decision ensures that ObamaCare is engraved in stone and safe from repeal yet reality draws a much different conclusion.  The same problems that plagued the controversial healthcare law before Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling were still there after the decision was read and the problems facing ObamaCare continue to mount.  As for the President’s involvement in this decision, there was none.

If however the president must be recognized in some way for his contribution to ObamaCare, he should be chastised instead of praised as had the Supreme Court ruled in favor of King then the tax subsidies for over 6 million individuals would have been toppled by four words contained in a poorly written law which bears his name.

Then there was the President’s recent trade agreement that after an early defeat and fierce debate in congress, was finally passed.  One of only a few check marks on the President’s “to do” list, since he took office in 2009, and hardly one that should foster any praise for him or any democrat for that matter.  How ironic is it that one of the very few key legislative accomplishment of President Obama’s terms in office happened at the will of Republicans while facing heavy opposition by his own party.  If there is any praise to be handed out over this trade agreement, it needs to go to those on the right who made the deal possible for the president.

And this past Friday, President Obama delivered the eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor who died in the senseless shooting on June 17^th during a prayer meeting.  It was a moving and memorable moment without question but certainly not a defining one, presidentially speaking, as it was described in many of the articles that gave praise to the president over the weekend.

One article in particular that I read was titled “Barack Obama is officially one of the most consequential presidents inAmerican history”.  This particular article, while inspired by the events of the King vs Burwell ruling, was more a recap of what the author felt were the grand achievements of President Obama.  However, just as the events of last week were overblown as some type of presidential achievements, so were the talking point in this article.  The opening paragraph of this article reads as follows:

After Thursday's Supreme Court ruling, there's no longer any doubt: Barack Obama is one of the most consequential presidents in American history — and he will be a particularly towering figure in the history of American progressivism.

It may in fact be true that Barack Obama will be recognized as a significant figure in the history of American progressivism, however, those expecting favorable recognition for Obama might find disappointment in the forthcoming history books. 

The article provided significant discussion on the history and the failed attempts of past administrations to impose national healthcare upon the states.  In contrast, the article dedicated only a few lines to ObamaCare, mentioning only its success in expanding Medicaid.  No other successes were mentioned and of course there were no mentions of the laws numerous failures.

The article moved on to the president’s early stimulus package without addressing the fact that it ultimately failed to create any shovel ready jobs nor did it simulate the economy in any measureable way.  It author of the article also pointed out the bold yet ineffective use of Executive Actions by the president aimed to curb greenhouse gases and grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, along with a list of others.  Of course there was mention of the president’s historic yet meaningless action to reestablish relations with Cuba and the Iranian nuclear deal which looks as though could be the worst foreign policy move of his presidency, which is saying a great deal.

In all fairness, the article did point out some of Obama’s failures are president although it tamped them down significantly, leaving out the worst policy errors altogether.  The article was predictably void of  mention to the mountain of scandals that surrounds Obama’s Presidency nor was there any mention made that President Obama is responsible for creating the least transparent administration of any in all US history.

While I understand that the left must capitalize on every opportunity that presents itself to bolster their lame duck presidents appearance, they probably should reel in the rhetoric a bit as the weakness of President Obama’s past weeks achievement make their praise come off more as desperation than an affirmation of presidential successes.