Obama Back In “Local” Politics – His Actions Akin to Insisting Air Force One Land on a Pacific Atoll

Obama just doesn’t get  it.  When it comes to local politics or issues with which he does not have  time to become embroiled or to follow through, he has no sense of propriety or proportion in the execution of the priorities of his office.  For the third time in his presidency, he has dragged  his office into areas of controversy that can only work against him, not for him, with the majority of citizens in the US.

In all three situations where he has taken a stand on issues outside the area of his generally understood “job description,”  he has responded to black issues.  Yes, he did promise to fight for the black man and his rights as President but his MO has been a bit awkward.

His first misstep was commenting on the Gates affair in Harvard where a noted Harvard professor claimed racial profiling in his arrest.  Without all  of the facts being in, our Prez definitively sided with his friend the black professor. He further lectured on the history of the black man in relation to the police.  It is unclear if he has really overcome this blunder because with each incident like this, it is referred to again.  He’s a presidential provocateur.

Then there were the music awards at which black entertainer  Kanye West            interrupted the acceptance speech of  Taylor Swift to declare to the world that Beyoncé deserved it.  The President deemed Kayne’s actions inappropriate.  Here, a young black man was instructed in proper behavior.  Father Obama not the President in action here.

Now it has come to light that Obama has called the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles to congratulate him on taking convicted dog abuser and killer  Michael  Vick back after his release from prison.  He noted and quite correctly so that so many do not even attempt to give ex-cons a second chance.  With many more blacks in prison that any other race, this was Father Obama speaking to the non-blacks about appropriate behavior.

It seems the President cannot see the effect of his actions in these quasi local affairs.  Certainly they are below the radar as his primary concerns.  And judging from the reaction to these moments, one can only ask weakly:  Has it been worth his time and reputation as a leader?  All it demonstrates is that he does not dither when it comes to these issues; only when it comes to how many troops will go to Afghanistan, and etc.

It is no doubt his love of Lincoln that inspires much of the above.  Lincoln waxed professorial many times but each time he was speaking to the entire nation and not one faction of it.  One wonders how many more times Obama will try actions that mirror his misuse of Air Force One.  How many times will he try to land that object of his desire somewhere where there is not appropriate runway.  Now remember, this is the leader of this nation taking on  the Eagles, a music award show and a role as primer enter pares in a local dispute with the police.

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Tagged: Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Kanye West, Leadership, Michael Vick

Posted in: Barack Obama, LEADERSHIP, MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS, MEDIA, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, OPINION, RACISM, REFORM, UNITED STATES