Middle ground is often hard to find, regardless of whether you try to get there from the left or the right. President Obama made the news three times last week, with each appearance being overshadowed more by politics than the substance behind his comments. His presidency has taken the appearance of a rudderless ship, using the press and public opinion to drive short term goals with no strategic plan to maintain direction. Like the Clinton years, weekly trial balloons are floated and the Chicago political machine drives the agenda. Sadly, the theme of the week does not deliver substance, but takes America on “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.”
During the State of the Union Address, President Obama again shifted blame for the economy back to the prior eight years before he was elected; offering a repeated argument, he “inherited a failing economy after eight years of bad decisions.” Worsening his image, his speech was overshadowed by his gaffe against the Supreme Court’s recent first amendment ruling. He erred in stating foreign corporations would be allowed to spend in our elections, although 2 U.S.C. 441e(b)(3) prevents this and Justice Alito responded, forever tainting the tone of the speech.
On Friday, Obama went to Baltimore to dialogue directly with the Republican Caucus. A frequent video clip of the networks is Obama stating, “I am not an ideologue.” However, my check of the dictionary shows an ideologue to be “an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology.” My recollection of the last 12 months is locking the minority party out of discussions on health care, mocking the passionate citizens of the minority, and demonizing anyone who disagrees with the majority’s agenda. Regardless, I am impressed he engaged, and more importantly, did so without a teleprompter.
This last week shined light on the tissue paper-thin qualifications of our president and peeled the onion back to show a man that continues to operate in campaign mode, not a strong leader with the strength he promised. The State of the Union a year later was the platform to recount “Hope and Change.” However, promises were broken – Guantanamo, Afghanistan, reducing unemployment – all of which don’t require opposition party support. Even ramming the largest healthcare bill in history into the economy was not accomplished because he cannot lead his own party. Last week’s State of the Union speech could have enticed all Americans, but the populist platform rang hollow with disappointment.

A former NSB resident, company owner, teacher and engineer, John Nelson lives in Georgia with his wife and son. This is his View from the Porch.