Mr. “Present”, Barack Obama

Obama-I-Know-NothingThe former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, was the first to report that the Obama administration was manipulating the unemployment rates before the 2012 election. Welch used his twitter account to challenge the administration on the surprising numbers. The left vilified him for weeks over it and the White House called his remarks “ludicrous”.  Now the NY Post has named a source from the Census Bureau who was asked to manipulate the unemployment numbers before the election. The Bureau fabricated results and manipulated the numbers to achieve the desired data.

I already know the response that will be given by this President on this latest scandal to hit this administration. We have been here many times before. Teflon President, the Limbaugh Theorem and many other terms have defined Obama as the leader who somehow manages to detach himself to the scandals that plague his administration.

I think we need to change Obama’s title to “Mr. Present” instead of Mr. President. His mode of operation is to cast a vote of “present” with no final outcome and somehow sidestepping each crisis. It was his mode as Senator when he voted 130 times as “present” without clearly defining his decision on a final vote. Now five years later into his second term as President, he is still raising his hand. We know he is there. He acknowledges each crisis, makes empty promises and yet somehow manages to stand on the sidelines along with the rest of us. Now we are forced to ask ourselves who is the leader of the United States?

Let’s revisit some of these scandals and “Mr. Present’s” response to them:

Fast and Furious:

(September 20, 2012- President’s remarks at Univision Town Hall Meeting)

“Well, first of all, I think it’s important for us to understand that the Fast and Furious program was a field-initiated program under the previous administration. When Eric Holder found out about it, he discontinued it.”

“And so the challenge that we have is that at any given moment in the federal government, there may be people who do dumb things. And I’ve seen it, I promise. (Laughter.) And ultimately, I’m responsible, and my key managers, including the Attorney General, are responsible, for holding those people accountable, for making sure that they are fired if they do dumb things, and then fixing the system to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. And I’m very confident that you will not see any kind of actions like this in the future.”

Benghazi:

(September 12, 2012- Remarks by the President on the Deaths of the U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya)

“No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.”

(October 18, 2012- Obama with Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show”)

“Here’s what I’ll say. If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal. We’re going to fix it. All of it. And what happens, during the course of a presidency, is that the government is a big operation and any given time something screws up and you make sure to find out what’s broken and you fix it.”

The IRS Scandal:

(May 13, 2013 –Joint Press Conference)

Well, let me take the IRS situation first. I first learned about it from the same news reports that I think most people learned about this. I think it was on Friday.”

 “The IG is conducting its investigation. And I am not going to comment on their specific findings prematurely, but I can tell you that if you’ve got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and non-partisan way, then that is outrageous, it is contrary to our traditions. And people have to be held accountable, and it’s got to be fixed. So we’ll wait and see what exactly all the details and the facts are. But I’ve got no patience with it. I will not tolerate it. And we will make sure that we find out exactly what happened on this.”

Affordable Care Act:

(June 11, 2009- Town Hall Meeting at Green Bay, Wisconsin)

“I know that there are millions of Americans who are happy, who are content with their health care coverage — they like their plan, they value their relationship with their doctor. And no matter how we reform health care, I intend to keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you’ll be able to keep your doctor; if you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan.”

(October 30, 2013- Remarks by the President on ACA at Boston, Massachusetts)

“Now, if you had one of these substandard plans before the Affordable Care Act became law and you really liked that plan, you’re able to keep it. That’s what I said when I was running for office. That was part of the promise we made. But ever since the law was passed, if insurers decided to downgrade or cancel these substandard plans, what we said under the law is you’ve got to replace them with quality, comprehensive coverage — because that, too, was a central premise of the Affordable Care Act from the very beginning.”

Four Scandals with four responses but no real results. A President who refuses to lead but is simply present. He takes no responsibility. There is no blame whatsoever on his administration, just empty promises and unanswered questions.

Will Obama address these new allegations regarding the fabrication of the unemployment rates, or will he merely push them off to the side? He refuses to stand as a leader but is always retreating to the back, never willing to step up. True leadership is about stepping forward and taking responsibility.

What should a true leader do in times of crisis and scandal?  Seems we need a leader like Harry Truman who plainly stated, “The buck stops here”.

Julie Klose

Virginia Politichick Julie Klose is a freelance writer and blogger. Julie covers all topics related to US and foreign politics but is particularly passionate about social issues. She is pro-life and has interviewed different people and organizations within the pro-life movement. Julie has been featured on several radio shows for her conservative opinions. She is a contributing writer and content editor for Barbwire.com. When she is not dabbling in political writing, she enjoys blogging on her personal blog site at www.thevelvetbrick.org where she mixes it up about faith, family, and politics. You can find Julie on Twitter @thevelvetbrick1 or on her Facebook page The Velvet Brick.

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