Obama, Odysseus, and the Sirens of Doom

OBAMA, ODYSSEUS, AND THE   SIRENS OF DOOM

SEPTEMBER 2012

2012 is arguably the most important presidential election since World War II.  The United States is now at a tipping point between possible recovery and the abyss.  President Obama’s clarion call for hope and change from four years ago turned out to be more Madison Avenue than Main Street.  It’s as though Don Draper of Mad Men fame took a long drag on his cigarette back in season two in 2008 and stood up to emphasize a new idea: an amateur politician from Chicago will wow the populace with his Ivy League education, impressive rhetoric, authentic charm, and most importantly his African heritage.

His arm goes up to cut off questions – don’t worry, no one will say a thing about Barack Obama’s utter lack of experience or his dubious friends from Columbia University or The City of Chicago.  No one will say a thing because we will all be invested in this incredible moment of electing a black man to the White House.  His election will be a national catharsis.

Will Americans once again toss reason and logic to the wind and follow the sweet songs of Homer's Sirens from The Odyssey?  

Unlike Homer’s Odysseus who tied himself to the mast of his ship and put wax in the ears of his sailors to avoid the rocks of doom, President Obama strode around the ship of state, with the swag of Will Smith, and his sailors - ears sans wax.

So where are we today?

1. We are 16 Trillion dollars in debt, 6 Trillion dollars since Mr. Obama became president.
2. Unemployment remains above 8% since the president stepped into office. The GDP is growing at an anemic rate of 1.3%.
3. Bob Woodward says “…people are talking about the fiscal cliff coming…(b)ut the real problem is going to be in February when of necessity, whoever is president, is going to have to go to the Congress and say, we need another trillion dollars, maybe $2 trillion in borrowing authority to pay our debts…(even) Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is saying ‘We've got to do something. We will trigger…a depression worse than the 1930s.’ ”

In his searing essay, “Puncture the Cocoon of Denial” Mark Steyn wrote, that America’s “(p)ublic debt has increased by 67 percent over the past three years, and too many Americans refuse even to see it as a problem. For most of us, "$16.4 trillion" has no real meaning…”  The song of the Sirens is beckoning another stimulus.  Many now concede that with Will Smith a.k.a. Barack Obama at the helm our national debt will be 20 Trillion dollars by 2016.  STRIKE ONE…But there’s more.

We now know that the president’s handling of our foreign affairs in the Middle-East has been amateur hour without the laughs.  Our embassies were not secure; people in these countries are not enamored with the United States, despite the warm and fuzzy rhetoric out of the White House.  Two weeks ago, Ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Susan Rice was forced to do head-stands on national television in an unsuccessful attempt to portray the president in particular and the administration in general as a well oiled machine.

That notion was put to rest by President Obama’s own words vis-à-vis Egypt: During an interview with Telemundo, President Obama said “(T)he U.S. would not consider Egypt an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy… (Egypt is a) new government that is trying to find its way."  Whoopee!  So what does Mr. Obama do this week at the United Nations in New York City?  He bypasses every international leader in order to appear on The View with Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg.  All that is missing is Elmer Fudd appearing in Libya saying: "Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting al-Qaeda with President Obama".  STRIKE TWO.

There’s still more: Mr. Obama has dispelled any notion that he is a transformative politician.  His rhetoric and that of his surrogates has been reprehensible all during this campaign.  Mitt Romney may be a felon, he fires people, takes their money and sends their jobs over seas, and he is even responsible for the death of woman from cancer, and in one commercial he pushes Grandma in a wheelchair over a cliff.  He’s going to put you all back in chains.  The latest outrage comes from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who said that Mitt Romney has sullied his faith and is not the face of Mormonism.  This may be the lowest blow in presidential politics even surpassing Donald Segretti's heady days on Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign of 1972.  And where is the outrage from the president?  There is none.    Think about it, Reid is trying to inflame hatred against Mormons and the president is quite.  You may argue that his record is a sign of the times, something to be expected, but what you cannot argue is that Mr. Obama is above the fray.  He deceived us with his blarney four years ago.  STRIKE THREE…Mr. President you’re out!  Take Michelle and Elmer Fudd back to Chicago just remember to duck since there’s a war now among black teenage boys.

In short, it is time for progressives to grow up and realize that the grand experiment did not work, not because Mr. Obama is half African but because he was not prepared to be president.

Americans must ask themselves this question (ideally delivered in the voice of San Francisco’s Inspector Callahan): “Can you honestly say that Barack Obama deserves a second term based upon his record?  Now can you…ladies and gentlemen?”  Don’t listen to Obama the Siren but rather listen to both your head and your heart.  America’s counting on you. 

Word total: 943

Geoffrey G. Fisher is a Highly Qualified, state-certified history teacher working in southwest Florida as a guest teacher.  He holds a BA in History from the University of Connecticut and a MA in Public Policy from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.  In addition to teaching he is a former elected official and speechwriter.  Mr. Fisher now writes the political blog: THE THINKING CAP at 

                             www.theamericanthinkingcap.blogspot.com.