When criticizing Obama, performance, not race, is the issue

Originally published in the Daily Press.

Recently, President Obama has gone off script.

In June, he famously expressed that the private sector economy is “doing fine.” I guess so…if he considers 23 million Americans out of work, the unemployment rate at more than 8 percent, a weak dollar, and higher energy prices as positive indicators of a strong economy.

Then, here in Virginia, the president said, “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

There is some truth to what the president is saying.

There have been great people along the way — Founders and patriots, builders and scientists, etc. We do stand on the shoulders of giants.

And, there are great people in our lives now — everyone from public servants to family members to colleagues upon whom we all rely.

Yet, when I listen to the president, I can’t help but think that to him the individual is subordinate to the state, which is opposite of the commonly held belief in the American dream and the notion of individual liberty and personal responsibility.

The old saying is still true, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” It still takes the individual to act on the support which is and has been given — and to make themselves, their ideas, and their creations a success.

It’s almost shocking to hear a sitting president say “you didn’t build that.” Almost.

But if you look at the policies of this administration you can’t be all that surprised: nationalizing student loans, enacting job-killing EPA standards on coal, and, of course, mandated healthcare, among others.

It’s clear that this administration is not interested in individual liberty and freedom, but implementing a far left agenda.

The policies of the president can and should be debated.

“What I’m saying to you is Mitt Romney, he’s speaking to a population of this — a segment of the population who does not like to see people other than a white man in the White House or in any other elected position,” Democratic Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas said on the John Fredericks Show. “Let’s be real clear about it, let’s be real clear about it, Mitt Romney is speaking to a group of people out there who don’t like folks like President Barack Obama in any elected or leadership position. We know what’s going on here, and … some people may be afraid to say it, but I’m not. I’m not afraid to say it. He’s speaking to that fringe out there who do not want to see anybody another than a white person in a leadership position.”

Lucas, an Obama surrogate, clearly has no intention on debating Obama’s failed record as president. Instead, she has chosen to attempt to silence conservatives into submission; to undercut the first amendment by uttering one powerful, loaded word: racist.

She won’t be successful.


My column runs every other Wednesday in the Daily Press Opinion pages. Get your digital membership today!

Сейчас уже никто не берёт классический кредит, приходя в отделение банка. Это уже в далёком прошлом. Одним из главных достижений прогресса является возможность получать кредиты онлайн, что очень удобно и практично, а также выгодно кредиторам, так как теперь они могут ссудить деньги даже тем, у кого рядом нет филиала их организации, но есть интернет. http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi.html - это один из сайтов, где заёмщики могут заполнить заявку на получение кредита или микрозайма онлайн. Посетите его и оцените удобство взаимодействия с банками и мфо через сеть.