June 18, 2012
By Steve McCann
Excessive civility in the face of a national crisis is tantamount to indifference. The Bush family dynasty exemplifies the patrician attitude of holding oneself above the fray after fulfilling one's pre-ordained obligation to society. This may have been fine in the halcyon days of the past, when America's future seemed limitless and those answering to the call of duty were for the most part honorable people. With Barack Obama at the helm, that is no longer the case.
Never in American history has the nation been saddled with such an unethical and ideologically rigid administration, whose ultimate goal is to tear apart the fabric of society and to recast the United States into the socialist model originally formulated in Italy of the 1920s and '30s.
The guiding principle of this system is socialism with a capitalistic veneer -- thus leaving an appearance of a free market while centralized government agencies plan all economic and societal activity as well as control all aspects of manufacturing, commerce, banking, health care, energy, and agriculture. This same statist government, in order to maintain high employment levels and public support of those in power, initiates massive public-works programs and spending and makes certain that a vast majority of the citizenry is dependent on government largess, all financed by steep taxes, excessive borrowing, and fiat money-creation.
A key characteristic of the reality of this philosophy is rampant cronyism and corruption. Among the principal aspects is rewarding business owners and financiers who pledge allegiance to the regime with lucrative government contracts and loans, while governing through groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect themselves and their friends from accountability. In the meantime, the offending parties marginalize the legislature and ignore the judiciary as they gradually become a permanent ruling entity.
If re-elected, Barack Obama will have nearly free rein to complete this transformation, as the Congress and the Courts will be powerless to stop him. Whether by granting de facto legal status to illegal aliens or through the EPA enacting a green energy agenda not approved by Congress, he has shown his willingness to use previously granted or usurped executive power to force his agenda on the American people.
By the end of his second term, the United States will record a national debt in excess of $21 trillion ($10.6 trillion at the end of 2008) and unfunded liabilities approaching $200 trillion. Interest payments alone will absorb nearly 35% of all income tax revenues. The economy will be in tatters, as higher taxes and a further avalanche of regulations and mandates will strangle business and wealth formation. A societal upheaval will be inevitable as the Obama administration will have succeeded in rupturing racial, ethnic and economic fault lines. The American standard of living will be in a free-fall, and the prospect of turning around a nation that will have become a second-rate military and economic power will be exceedingly dim.
Yet many in the American patrician class refuse to acknowledge who Barack Obama is, what damage he has wrought, and the dire future the nation faces if he is re-elected. Their general consensus is that he is a likeable fellow in over his head, with the best of intentions, albeit misguided. Therefore, excessive criticism or "incivility" is uncalled for when discussing the faults and foibles of Barack Obama. It is apparently an ironclad tenet that the intentions of anyone who becomes the president of the United States are above reproach unless he or she is a conservative Republican or proven corrupt in a formal impeachment process.
The leading proponent of this approach is the Bush family. It is admirable that George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush have proclaimed their respect for the office of president of the United States and the tradition of not publically criticizing any current occupant. Yet Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did not and do not hesitate to inject public criticism of any Republican incumbent or past president. Further, the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, while muted in his criticism of Obama, is nonetheless willing to castigate conservative Republicans for being, in his mind, overly divisive and unwilling to compromise with someone bent on transforming the nation.
The current occupant of the White House, as he is incapable of assuming any responsibility, on a near-daily basis lays all the nation's current economic problems at the feet of his predecessor. That tactic is also reprised by his sycophants in the media and the useful idiots in the Democratic Party. This drumbeat has been so constant and unrelenting that it has through the force of sheer repetition been permanently imbedded in the nation's psyche so that three and a half years into Obama's term, 68% of Americans blame Bush more than Obama for the state of the economy.
While nearly all of the assertions made by Obama are outright lies and fabrications, it matters little, as there is no one with a national megaphone to dispute or answer these absurd assertions. Relying on the civility inbred into George W. Bush, Barack Obama is shameless; he is thoroughly steeped in the belief that the end justifies any means.
Combined with the now-infamous decision made during his two terms in office to not publicly defend himself or forcefully answer his demagogic critics, George W. Bush has cast himself into the role of a convenient scapegoat. His many substantive accomplishments during those years pale in the public mind, in comparison to the fabricated failures that have been heaped upon his administration. As with all past presidents, there were mistakes made during his term in office; however, they are insignificant next to the deliberately egregious tactics and errors of the Obama administration.
In another time and place, it would suffice to say that history will, in the end, vindicate the Bush presidency. But that assumes that the United States would still be the pre-eminent economic and military power on the planet capable of consistently improving the standard of living for its people. If not, then those who will write the history of America will attach much of the blame to George W. Bush not only for the ascendancy of Barack Obama, but also for his re-election, and to the patrician ruling class for their unwillingness to forcefully rebut Obama's lies and demagoguery, and inability to point out his lack of character and integrity.
The Bush family's patriotism and love of country cannot be questioned. However, duty calls, and they can no longer stand by and allow Barack Obama to win re-election by convincing the citizenry that he bears no responsibility for the crisis facing the country. It is time for George W. Bush to put aside some of that civility and vigorously defend his record while pointing out the dire future facing the American people.
By Steve McCann
Excessive civility in the face of a national crisis is tantamount to indifference. The Bush family dynasty exemplifies the patrician attitude of holding oneself above the fray after fulfilling one's pre-ordained obligation to society. This may have been fine in the halcyon days of the past, when America's future seemed limitless and those answering to the call of duty were for the most part honorable people. With Barack Obama at the helm, that is no longer the case.
Never in American history has the nation been saddled with such an unethical and ideologically rigid administration, whose ultimate goal is to tear apart the fabric of society and to recast the United States into the socialist model originally formulated in Italy of the 1920s and '30s.
The guiding principle of this system is socialism with a capitalistic veneer -- thus leaving an appearance of a free market while centralized government agencies plan all economic and societal activity as well as control all aspects of manufacturing, commerce, banking, health care, energy, and agriculture. This same statist government, in order to maintain high employment levels and public support of those in power, initiates massive public-works programs and spending and makes certain that a vast majority of the citizenry is dependent on government largess, all financed by steep taxes, excessive borrowing, and fiat money-creation.
A key characteristic of the reality of this philosophy is rampant cronyism and corruption. Among the principal aspects is rewarding business owners and financiers who pledge allegiance to the regime with lucrative government contracts and loans, while governing through groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect themselves and their friends from accountability. In the meantime, the offending parties marginalize the legislature and ignore the judiciary as they gradually become a permanent ruling entity.
If re-elected, Barack Obama will have nearly free rein to complete this transformation, as the Congress and the Courts will be powerless to stop him. Whether by granting de facto legal status to illegal aliens or through the EPA enacting a green energy agenda not approved by Congress, he has shown his willingness to use previously granted or usurped executive power to force his agenda on the American people.
By the end of his second term, the United States will record a national debt in excess of $21 trillion ($10.6 trillion at the end of 2008) and unfunded liabilities approaching $200 trillion. Interest payments alone will absorb nearly 35% of all income tax revenues. The economy will be in tatters, as higher taxes and a further avalanche of regulations and mandates will strangle business and wealth formation. A societal upheaval will be inevitable as the Obama administration will have succeeded in rupturing racial, ethnic and economic fault lines. The American standard of living will be in a free-fall, and the prospect of turning around a nation that will have become a second-rate military and economic power will be exceedingly dim.
Yet many in the American patrician class refuse to acknowledge who Barack Obama is, what damage he has wrought, and the dire future the nation faces if he is re-elected. Their general consensus is that he is a likeable fellow in over his head, with the best of intentions, albeit misguided. Therefore, excessive criticism or "incivility" is uncalled for when discussing the faults and foibles of Barack Obama. It is apparently an ironclad tenet that the intentions of anyone who becomes the president of the United States are above reproach unless he or she is a conservative Republican or proven corrupt in a formal impeachment process.
The leading proponent of this approach is the Bush family. It is admirable that George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush have proclaimed their respect for the office of president of the United States and the tradition of not publically criticizing any current occupant. Yet Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did not and do not hesitate to inject public criticism of any Republican incumbent or past president. Further, the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, while muted in his criticism of Obama, is nonetheless willing to castigate conservative Republicans for being, in his mind, overly divisive and unwilling to compromise with someone bent on transforming the nation.
The current occupant of the White House, as he is incapable of assuming any responsibility, on a near-daily basis lays all the nation's current economic problems at the feet of his predecessor. That tactic is also reprised by his sycophants in the media and the useful idiots in the Democratic Party. This drumbeat has been so constant and unrelenting that it has through the force of sheer repetition been permanently imbedded in the nation's psyche so that three and a half years into Obama's term, 68% of Americans blame Bush more than Obama for the state of the economy.
While nearly all of the assertions made by Obama are outright lies and fabrications, it matters little, as there is no one with a national megaphone to dispute or answer these absurd assertions. Relying on the civility inbred into George W. Bush, Barack Obama is shameless; he is thoroughly steeped in the belief that the end justifies any means.
Combined with the now-infamous decision made during his two terms in office to not publicly defend himself or forcefully answer his demagogic critics, George W. Bush has cast himself into the role of a convenient scapegoat. His many substantive accomplishments during those years pale in the public mind, in comparison to the fabricated failures that have been heaped upon his administration. As with all past presidents, there were mistakes made during his term in office; however, they are insignificant next to the deliberately egregious tactics and errors of the Obama administration.
In another time and place, it would suffice to say that history will, in the end, vindicate the Bush presidency. But that assumes that the United States would still be the pre-eminent economic and military power on the planet capable of consistently improving the standard of living for its people. If not, then those who will write the history of America will attach much of the blame to George W. Bush not only for the ascendancy of Barack Obama, but also for his re-election, and to the patrician ruling class for their unwillingness to forcefully rebut Obama's lies and demagoguery, and inability to point out his lack of character and integrity.
The Bush family's patriotism and love of country cannot be questioned. However, duty calls, and they can no longer stand by and allow Barack Obama to win re-election by convincing the citizenry that he bears no responsibility for the crisis facing the country. It is time for George W. Bush to put aside some of that civility and vigorously defend his record while pointing out the dire future facing the American people.
American Thinker
