You may believe that Obama is the worst president in American history. That's harsh, and debatable. Some Americans call for his impeachment and while his lawless behavior warrants that, politics argue against it. I am always reminded of a recall election in San Francisco started by some crackpots in 1983, which wound up giving Dianne Feinstein another term as mayor. She never fulfilled her ambition of becoming governor or vice-president, but she is regarded as a powerful senator. I concur. Powerfully bad, not to mention dangerous and corrupt.

 

There have been a couple of awesome presidencies, many more awful chief executives in US history. One held office for one month. William Henry Harrison died after contracting pneumonia shortly after taking office in 1841, making him a far better president than Obama (Harrison did no harm), but Wilson, Grant, Roosevelt (either of them) and others contributed greatly to the decline of this nation and providing competition for the "worst" title. I cannot acknowledge Obama's being the worst ever, at least without the historical perspective that comes with time, as the future exposes further fallout from his ineptitude. Crowning Obama the worst president in the past six or seven decades is more accurate.

President Obama encompasses inexperience, incompetence, ideological illogic and dishonesty into one flawed package. The younger Bush has been accused of lying about weapons of mass destruction being in Iraq. That is debatable, but Obama has presided over weapons of mass deception within our borders. Some consider it disrespectful to illuminate presidential dishonesty, but I'd rather be honest than stand on ceremony. He lies about what he will do and what he has done.

This president not only refuses to accommodate Republican concerns, he won't work with his own party. He has presided over a recovery so tepid that 74 percent of Americans do not believe it is a recovery. I've heard it referred to as a recovery for the one-percent, while Obama hypocritically attacks the one-percent, as if he isn't their benefactor, much as he acts as if catastrophes within his Administration are nothing to do with him.

He does not grasp the meaning of "chief executive." Obama reacts to revelations of Administration shortcomings with anger, deflection of blame and cover-ups. He promises to "fix" problems, but never does. To be fair, Mr Obama looks fine and his ties are always knotted impeccable, so there's that.

Obama's foreign policy: ludicrous. And wavering. Blame Clinton and Kerry, who deserve some of the criticism, but they follow the President's leadership (from behind). The Middle East is always a disaster. His administration has managed to make it significantly worse, which is not easy. One reason is the increased reliance on drones and his following most of GWB's policies, annoying those who believed Obama would offer a less combative approach than his predecessor. He demonstrates weakness when strength is required, brashness when a delicate touch is appropriate. He also has stuck his foot in it, Biden-like, drawing "red" lines and generating other off-the-cuff blunders.

The world over, he alienates allies, delights opponents. Unreported in this country, Latin American relations are weakening because of the focus on other areas, ineffectual as they may be. Canada is losing patience over his indecisiveness on the Keystone XL Pipeline, among other things. Mexico wants a more relaxed stand on illegal immigrants, offering nothing in return, such as protection of American visitors to that nation.

On domestic issues, he is divisive and indecisive, pursuing the opposite of consensus politics. Most presidents promise to bring everyone together, with mixed success, but they usually try. He has been belligerant from Day One. His big "achievement," the Unaffordable Care Act (Obamacare), is creating a legacy of pain already, from higher taxes to lower quality care and millions losing coverage. A boon to the insurance industry, the UCA does not address any of the shortcomings of health care delivery it promised to solve. In fact, the cure is worse than the disease. As with most of his initiatives, it was never supported by the public, so it had to be finagled through Congress with political chicanery, cheating the legal process for passing legislation. It still faces Constitutional challenges, but its biggest hurdle is fooling Americans into accepting it, after lying to get it through, and after it was passed without one Republican vote. So far, the best defenders can offer is "It's the law of the land."

By executive fiat, Mr Obama ignores Congress, inviting the likelihood that most of his agenda will be reversed by his successor with the stroke of a pen, or a phone call. More important, he does nothing to pursue illegal activities within his administration, whether or not he is personally involved, the only exception being increased prosecution of whistleblowers. Even worse is the culture of cover-ups and lies. At the IRS, NSA, Injustice Department, Ice, TSA, VA (Department of Veterans Affairs, not the Commonwealth of Virginia), and so on, the federal government has become a more blatantly criminal enterprise over his term, furthering a political, rather than policy, agenda, while accusing others of being too political. If most of the media didn't forgive his blunders, he would swimming in coyote dung by now. Yet, the public are beginning to see him for what he is, despite media complicity and blather from partisan dolts like Harry Reid and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

There are those who believe Obama is an African-born Muslim. I believe they are crazy. On the other hand, if the President were a Muslim, non-American, it is unlikely he would be acting much differently. That is scary.

That is a summary. The more we learn, the worse it gets — corrupt Chicago-style politics at its sleaziest. Barack Husein Obama has undermined faith in the office of the presidency and the federal government generally. While that is great for libertarians who despise imperial government, it prob-ably won't enhance his legacy, unless that is: "Obama was the impetus for rolling back federal overreach," a back-handed compliment reflecting his underhanded approach to governance. More Americans consider themselves Independents, rather than Democrats or Republicans. Why? They distrust both parties, beginning to recognize that they are one. Distrust and fear of government institutions has increased. Americans do not see the transpar-ency Mr Obama promised to provide when he was running, and claims to provide now. What they do see, they reject as against their interests and American principles.

©2014 Gary Tutin       photo: Reuters