Inauguration Day 2017

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."
- Mark Twain

President Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office January 20th, 2009.
Photo credit: Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo, U.S. Air Force

In 2008, I was mad that Barack Obama had won the election. As a conservative independent, there was a lot to not like. I criticized him heavily throughout his presidency and ultimately his legacy will be one of failure on the international stage, the domestic stage, and in the Democrat party itself.

Economically, President Obama oversaw some success where financial stability is concerned, but job creation hasn’t been enough to grow the labor force. While unemployment went down throughout President Obama’s term, the labor force participation rate has plunged to the lowest point since the 1970s. The largest number of people leaving the workforce has been men between the ages of 25 and 50 years old with minorities being hit the hardest. Even harder hit were teens and college graduates trying to get into the work force.

Where foreign policy is concerned, the pullout of the Middle East was mishandled so badly that American forces have never fully left and resulted in the advent of the Islamic State. The Arab uprisings overthrew governments that were friendly to the US and made the Middle East more unstable. The “deal” made with Iran was broken by Iran the day it went into effect and Iran is even more dangerous now than they were a decade ago. Several Muslim states that were stable or struggling are now failed states. The only country that was actually punished was also the only country that is an actual democracy—Israel.

Politically, Barack Obama promised bipartisanship and transparency and delivered on neither. The day Barack Obama and the Democrat controlled congress got to work on the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), Republicans were shut out of the debates and discussions and the only explanation given was “The Republicans haven’t offered any alternative” (a lie), and “elections have consequences,” both quotes eloquently delivered by then Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Also, the debates and discussions regarding the ACA were promised by candidate Obama to be televised on C-SPAN and that also never happened. During Barack Obama’s tenure as President, the actions of the Democrats led by the President have resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 elected seats to Republicans, many of which were in once Democrat strongholds.

Some may criticize his social agenda, but frankly that was the only place Barack Obama had any success. My criticism of President Obama where his social agenda is concerned is not on philosophical grounds even though I disagree with much of his social philosophies and the agenda he put forth. My problem was with his execution of his agenda. His constant rush to judgment assigning race and police brutality as the number one reason for these acts and automatically assuming one party was guilty, even after they were found not guilty in a court of law. His regard for law enforcement was unPresidential. His constant rush to judgment was well received by social justice advocates and young people who like gossip, but usually displayed a supreme lack of maturity for a man who was elected to lead the country.

President Obama’s politicization of every police action covered by the national media served to increase strife, division, and to rip open the scars of racism that were well on their way to healing.

Of course, President Obama wasn’t alone in this. Certainly not. He had advisors who had to agree with the statements he was making. He had a complicit media who fanned the flames of unrest so they could get better ratings. He had community leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who were the chief promoters and purveyors of the lies being fed to the country by the media acting as judge, jury, and executioner. They, and people like them bear just as much of the blame if not more.

So, I am not going to miss President Obama as President of the United States. I do think that sometimes it is better to keep the devil you know than accept the devil you don’t. However, the President only gets two terms and that’s fine by me. Regardless of what anyone may think of the electoral college, I do think it is the best method for choosing our President. Even though I wasn’t going to be happy with Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as President, I will continue to support the electoral college.

Obama Family Portrait
Photo credit: ABC

I didn’t always criticize Barack Obama. Sometimes, I actually supported and defended him. I’m not an Obama apologist, but when he did the right thing and he was attacked by the right because it was the politically expedient thing to do, I defended him. I can’t think of a bunch of times where I defended the President against his critics, but I did do so to the general annoyance of many of my conservative friends. I defended his right to nominate a Supreme Court Justice to replace Antonin Scalia, even though I felt any choice the President made would be a disaster in the long run. I defended the Obamas' choice to remain in Washington, D.C. after Barack Obama’s presidency so that their daughters could finish school there. I also defended Barack Obama’s choice of residence in the Kalorama neighborhood since it is an area widely chosen by D.C. power players and it’s nice and safe neighborhood.

I’ve also made a point to defend the President’s daughters. Malia and Sasha have been in the public eye for a long time and they will continue to be, likely for the rest of their lives. They are 18 and 15 respectively. They have been in the public eye since the Democrat convention of 2004 when Malia was 6 and Sasha was 3. The limelight has only gotten brighter since their father became a candidate for the presidency in 2007. The Obama girls had no choice in this, as far as I know and frankly, I don’t care. When I see them criticized for acting like teenagers and doing stupid teenager stuff, I think, “Why can’t we just let them be kids?” If they break the law, which they haven’t, let law enforcement deal with it. If they misbehave, they have parents and most conservatives I know don’t want their kids raised by the village and don’t want to be dictated to, but feel it’s just fine to dictate to the former President and his wife how to raise theirs.

The last thing I want to say about President Obama is that while I disagreed with him, often vehemently on points of policy, philosophy, and leadership style, the last of which I think he bungled badly on a regular basis, I do think that Barack Obama is a good man. That may come as a shock, especially for the things I criticized him for and the way I have criticized him. One of Barack Obama’s major problems throughout his life, and I dare say most of us have this same problem, is that he lives in a philosophical echo chamber where he doesn’t hear many opinions that differ from his own. I think that many of the people he was surrounded by during his tenure in office were obsequious and were in too much awe of his celebrity to question him. When Barack Obama could have benefitted from some disagreement with his handling of certain issues, he was instead met by a barrage of yesses from yes-men and yes-women. So, when he politicized events that shouldn’t have been politicized, I attribute that not to his being a bad person, but to inexperience and not having anyone criticize him in his inner circle.

With the end of the Presidency of Barack Obama and his start of a new life, I wish him and his family the best in the future. If I ever have the opportunity to meet him, I would gladly shake his hand with a smile. If he decides to hold any post-presidency beer summits, I’ll crack a brew with the man and drink to his health.

President Donald J. Trump takes the Oath of Office, January 20th, 2017.
Photo credit: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg News

Now, Donald Trump is President.

I don’t like it. I’m not happy about it. I have been often criticized for my criticism of the new President during the campaign and I’ve been told to suck it up. Unlike progressive liberals, I’m not going to cry about it. I’m not going to stamp my feet and request a safe space. I’m also not going to be happy about it for a while. If Trump doesn’t change a lot of things about his personality, politics, philosophy, leadership style, and the list could go on, I don’t think I will ever be happy with President Trump. I don’t remember any of my conservative friends being happy that Barack Obama was president, ever. I only have one friend that I know of who has crossed lines from being a Republican to a Democrat because of Trump. I haven’t been registered as a Republican for almost two decades, but I doubt I will ever agree philosophically with Democrats. That’s a bridge to far for me. The point is that none of my Republican friends, even the one that converted to being a Democrat were ever happy with Barack Obama being President. How, then, can you ask a person who did not support Donald Trump to suddenly be happy about him being President? I’m sorry for the friends I will probably lose for this, but that’s just good old fashioned hypocrisy.

Let me make it clear, though. I am going to give Donald Trump a chance. I like some of his cabinet choices, not all, and I like Mike Pense. I have a lot of concerns about many of Donald Trump’s policy positions and do believe that he is frankly in the wrong on many of them. I wrote an assessment of President Trump in August of 2015 and most of what I wrote still stands. Although, some areas I would grade him lower and some areas I would grade him higher, but his final score of C+ remains.

What you can expect from me over the next four to eight years is objectivity. At the beginning of Barack Obama’s Presidency, I was not completely objective. I tended to run to the echo chamber of the right, but as time went on, especially after he was reelected, I made a point of being objective about pretty much everything. I’m not perfect, I’m going to get it wrong—heck, I got Trump being elected wrong!—but I am going to give Trump a chance. When I disagree with him on something, I’m not just going to say, “I disagree,” I am going to say, “I disagree and here is why.” I will do the same thing if I agree with him. I am honestly pessimistic about a Trump presidency, but yes, I am going to give him a chance.

Something else I will say and it’s something I said on November 9^th, Donald Trump is my President. I didn’t vote for him, but he’s my President. I don’t like him, but he’s my President. I may not support his every decision, but he’s my President. Finally, until President Donald J. Trump is removed from office, voted out of office, or completes two terms as President, Donald Trump is my President.

So, Mr. President, congratulations on your successful campaign, your election and now your inauguration. I stand ready to serve my country under your leadership. I will support you and defend you when you are right and I will criticize you, hopefully constructively, when you are wrong. I wish you all the best in your new career as president. I hope you do well, not just for your place in the history books, but for the sake of the American people and all future generations.