On Tuesday night I subjected myself to listening to
as much of Barry’s 'farewell' speech as my poor stomach would allow. Which really wasn’t for very long. It seemed like his time in office was never going
to come to an end, and I worried if America would actually survive. And now that it’s almost over it’s amazing
how fast the last few years have gone by.
And while I suppose we can say the country has survived, I think we can
also say that it has been severely scarred, and to the degree that it may never
fully recover. Barry, the man who has
embraced "change" throughout his presidency, used the word 16 times in
his ‘farewell’ speech, but he did not directly mention the change Americans
embraced in this past November by voting for Donald Trump. At times, Barry -- the "hoax and
chains" president -- seemed to warn against the kind of change Trump has
promised.
I’m sure it can go without saying that Barry received
a rousing reception from the many devoted followers who had assembled to herald
his return to his hometown of Chicago, "where I learned that change only
happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come
together to demand it." After
extolling America's "bold experiment in self-government," Barry noted
that Americans, "through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more
perfect union." Barry went on to
say, "So that's what we mean when we say America is exceptional -- not
that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the
capacity to change and make life better for those who follow." Barry also noted that "the long sweep of
America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding
creed to embrace all and not just some."
In recounting what he views as being his many ‘accomplishments’
-- including job creation, "marriage equality," and the Iran weapons
deal -- Barry told Americans, "You were the change. You answered people's
hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better,
stronger place than it was when we started." Later in his speech, Barry said the nation
must "uphold laws against discrimination." And he went on to say, "But
laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations
to change." And it was twice that
Barry used the word "change" in connection with "climate
change." And here he seemed to have
a message for President-elect Trump, who has been skeptical of human-caused
climate change. But it’s Trump who
represents the millions of us who view ‘climate change’ as being nothing more
than a leftwing scam.
And it was when he got to the point in his speech
where he started talking about ‘climate change’ that’s when I decided I had
heard enough. Barry said, "Take the
challenge of climate change." And
then he said, "In just eight years, we've halved our dependence on foreign
oil; we've doubled our renewable energy; we've led the world to an agreement
that has the promise to save this planet.
But without bolder action, our children won't have time to debate the
existence of climate change. They'll be busy dealing with its effects: more
environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees
seeking sanctuary. Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to
solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future
generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country -- the essential
spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our
Founders."
And I would find out the next morning how it was that
during his rambling speech about himself and what a wonderful job he has done
as our president, Barry made what was an apparent swipe at Russia. Barry noted that "autocrats in foreign
capitals" are challenging the "post-World War II order" by
viewing "free markets and open democracies and and civil society itself as
a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more
far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the fear of change;
the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the
rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free
thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda
machine is the ultimate arbiter of what's true and what's right."
And I’m also told there were several instances where
Barry talked about "the power of ordinary Americans to bring about
change." And it was in speaking
directly to the Americans who have supported his agenda that he had said
"every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change, you are
the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will
forever be grateful. Because you did change the world." And it was in his message to young people
that Barry said, "you know that constant change has been America’s
hallmark, that it’s not something to fear but something to embrace; you are
willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any
of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands." And in a message to "my fellow
Americans," Barry said he had one final thing to ask of them -- "the
same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I am asking
you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in
yours."
Barry ended his speech with his old campaign slogan,
"Yes we can," adding, "Yes we did," then a final "Yes
we can." And when it was all said
and done Barry had referred to himself more than 70 times in his farewell
address. Barry heavily promoted the
speech, penning a blog post about it and appearing in a promotional video in
the days leading up to the address. Barry
said “I” 33 times during the speech, “my” 20 times, “me” 10 times, and “I’m” or
“I’ve” 12 times. Barry has made a habit
of focusing large chunks of his speeches on himself during his eight years in
office. Last July, for example, he
mentioned himself 45 times over the course of a speech given at a speech for
the slain Dallas police officers. Yet in
his silly little blog post promoting the speech, Barry encouraged Americans to
tune in “because, for me, it’s always been about you.” Oh really?
Much has been said about what Barry’s true and
lasting legacy will be. Will it be the
decimation of his party, where under his ‘leadership’ his party has not only
now lost the White House, but the Senate, the House, 12 Governorships, 13
Senate seats, 69 House seats, and an overall 1042 State and National seats. Republicans now hold 33 governorships vs
Democrats 17 and Republicans hold governorship and both houses of State
Legislature in 25 States vs Democrats 5.
But then there’s his legacy of lies about keeping your doctor, keeping
your healthcare and his using the IRS to target enemies. Remember his claim that there wasn't a smidgen
of corruption in the IRS and how he would restore trust in government and his would
be the most transparent administration in history? The sad fact is that never before in our
history has America had a president who so hated her and all for which she
stands.
As for a little trivia, Barry's farewell address on
Tuesday night was longer than the combined length of the three two-term
presidents who have preceded him — George W. Bush, ‘Slick Willy’ Clinton and
Ronald Reagan. The lengths of those
three speeches were 21 minutes for Ronald Reagan, 13 minutes for George Bush
and just 7 minutes for the old ‘Slickmeister.’
Meanwhile, Barry “Almighty” came in at 51 minutes. Barry also broke from tradition by holding
his address outside of the White House, electing to return to Chicago to do it
in front of 18,000 at the convention center.
No surprise there I suppose, when you’ve got an ego as big as what this
guy has, a simple speech given from behind the desk in the Oval Office simply
won’t do. Such a venue would come
nowhere near to measuring up to ‘stature’ of the speaker. However, I was surprised they didn’t bring
the Roman columns out of mothballs.
And it’s what I view as being a rather fitting quote
about Barry yet written over 2000 years ago that says, "A nation can
survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from
within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he
carries his banners openly. For the traitor appears not as a traitor, but speaks
in accents familiar to its citizens and wears their face and their arguments.
He appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the
soul of a nation and works secretly to undermine the pillars of the city,
infecting the body politic so it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be
feared" (Cicero 106-43 BC). It’s
almost as if they had Barry in mind at the time these prophetic words were
uttered. But these words can also serve
as a reminder that there have been other men like Barry, and there most
certainly will be others.
I feel that Barry was desperately hoping to have a
legacy that would have more closely resembled that of Ronald Reagan. But one that was based on a doomed Statist
political philosophy that can never produce anything but greater oppression,
loss of liberty, a collectively poorer nation, more poverty, and misery among
its citizens, while ultimately benefitting only the ruling elites that exempt
themselves from the very standards that inflict this misery on others. Barry continues to peddle his message of ‘hope
and change’; but not a hope grounded in the inherent greatness and genius of
"We the People", ordinary citizens, who, if allowed to keep the
fruits of their labors and kept free from big government social engineering and
meddling, could achieve great things, but rather a hope grounded in a supposed
benevolent big statist government, an institution which does not, and cannot,
ever exist.
But like all despot, dictator wannabes, the
johnny-come-lately is always self-deceived into thinking that he somehow knows
better than the rest of us, but when met with the inevitable failure, resorts
to rationalizing and blaming others, but never comes to question the legitimacy
of his own political philosophy. The ‘hope and change’ that Barry “Almighty”
offered us ended up pitting American against American, based on race, sexual
preference and economic status; it created chaos and despair among all but the
most blind Statist loyalists. It's the
very ‘hope and change’ that we didn't need, or will ever need, and the very
type no nation should ever desire. So
regarding Barry, despite his obsession to have his own legacy that would come
to be judged the equal of Ronald Reagan’s, there is one thing that is absolutely
certain: he, Barry “Almighty”, is most definitely no Ronald Reagan.
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