January 20, 2011: Two Year Anniversary of the Obama Presidency

Two years ago today was a monumental one for our nation. As well January 20th has a distinct dear place in my heart for two personal reasons.

Obama was sworn in and assumed the presidency two years ago today. It was also, January 20, 2009, the day I had to put my much loved Rottweiler Samson to sleep due to cancer having ravaged his sweet, loving and huge body. Even now as I type this a tear is welling up in my eye. I still miss him very much although I have a 6.5 month old Chocolate Lab pup - Admiral Harvey Pants to fill the void in my heart. And today, January 20, 2011 was the original due date for my youngest daughter to give birth to my first grandchild, but she delivered my granddaughter Veronica, Roni to her Grandpa, on January 4th. What a glory she is too!

What have two years shown us? Are we better off today than we were on January 19th, 2009? Fairly I believe the answer to that rhetorical question depends on your politics. One's political leanings beside the point, have the two years of the Obama presidency been good for the nation overall?

The economy has not improved in any real measure. Unemployment is still astronomically high. The left told us high unemployment would be the "new normal." Since when? Government has been running the Greenbacks printing presses a tad too much for sound fiscal governance to manifest. Even a temporary two year extension of all the Bush tax cuts is a political game. In truth business and economy DO NOT improve when it's known that in two years the left will go after tax increases once again. That is NOT stability, hence it will not lend to any major solving of the economic problems our nation faces.

Oil prices are once again skyrocketing. OPEC made clear they would not increase production thus keeping prices high. Obama's twice issuing moratoriums on Gulf drilling have only emboldened OPEC. They know they are basically the only game in town, thus can charge what they wish. If we were busy drilling our own vast domestic energy reserves, prices would fall, but since Obama has seen fit to hold dear to his Green agenda over what's best for the nations' economy, well it's pretty easy to see who is partly responsible for the higher fuel prices. What about the poor persons progressives swear they are all for helping? Higher gas and home heating costs really hurt the poor more than anyone else, so who is it the left is looking out for again?

What of the campaign rhetoric from the left during the election cycle of 2008 that electing Obama would soothe our national sense of race? As Limbaugh so dead on accurately announced in early 2008, the Obama presidency and even the election campaign only made the racial issues more glaring, more sensitive and more hostile. Rush claimed back then that it would soon become a matter of racism if one disagreed with Obama, and like it or not, what have we today? The left calling anyone who does not agree with them a racist. The left playing class warfare and identity politics to try and keep their fleeting hold on sanity, power and influence. The progressive efforts are an epic fail, but they are still at it.

What of the standing of the US in the eyes of the world? We were told by progressives and their media sycophants that Bush was a dangerous cowboy who hurt the US standing in the international community. That was BS when it was first uttered and as evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates today, our standing in the world is not at all improved and is actually worse. Now even Europe looks at the US and laughs at the direction progressives and Obama are trying to take this nation. Read the European press and it's obvious they are asking how can the US be so stupid as to follow along with what is proving to be a failed ideology - socialistic governance. It's a failure as the EU is clearly demonstrating, yet here are Obama and American progressives acting as if they can't see the reality at all.

Obamacare is proof the progressive agenda was always about them, progressives, and not the nation. And despite still a clear majority wanting it repealed in total or tweaked to the point that it does not look like the foul and likely unconstitutional law shoved down the throats of a nation largely screaming "NO," Republicans and conservatives are vilified for attempting to do as the majority wishes repealing or at least neutering Obamacare. And what to make of now 26 states joining in the lawsuit to repeal Obamacare? 26? That's more than half for the progressives, who like Obama, think there are "57 states."

As 2011 dawned unemployment is not better. Printing money and Keynesian economics have not helped and in fact have hurt our national recovery. The world doubts our leadership as being wise and actually in it to make this a better nation. Where's all that lefty concern for what the world thinks of the US now? It was important only when Bush was president, right? And existing home sales are still falling more than two years later. Progressive politics clearly DO NOT seem to be the answer to this nation's ills.

It's been two full years. Are Obama and progressive political wishes still not yet responsible for any of this? Clearly the left learned NOTHING from the November election. What will two more years see? If it's anything like that last two, it's going to be an ugly future. I might suggest progressives buckle down the chin straps on their little safety helmets. This nation will not rollover. We will not grant them their premises just because they demand them. We've demanded they PROVE their ideological wishes will do the fantastic things they claim and so far they have proven NOTHING!

Empirical evidence demonstrates January 20, 2009 was nothing to celebrate and exactly two years later, we still have nothing to celebrate. For me a darkness descended over this nation and my heart. My president and his supporters seem more interested in their progressive agenda than any sound national governance. And my dog died on that day, so celebrate? I will NOT! I just hope my violent retching subsides before I puke my guts out!