When did
Harry Truman’s motto, “The buck stops here,” turn into Barack Obama’s pass the
buck, “Nobody’s madder than me that the website isn’t working as it
should”? Does anyone truly believe that Barack Obama is more upset about the
disastrous Obamacare rollout than the woman battling cancer who lost her
insurance because of his legislation? Does anyone truly believe that Barack
Obama is more upset about Obamacare than the family whose insurance premiums
just doubled? What, exactly, do those words mean?
Asking this
question set me thinking of past leaders in history. After the sin of the
Golden Calf, Moses pleaded with God to forgive the Israelites. Moses didn’t
tell the children of Israel that he was working hard for them. Instead, he told
God to erase him from His book if He wouldn’t forgive the people (Exodus
32:32). This was not flowery rhetoric. From the time we meet Moses until his final
speech begins in Deuteronomy, Moses’ name appears in every sedra (the
portions into which the Bible is divided according to ancient Jewish wisdom)
except for one – Exodus 27:20-30:10. His
name is erased from this one section, usually read in the week in which his day
of birth and death fall, in tribute to his willingness to sacrifice himself for
his people.
Years later, Queen Esther approached King
Achashveirush to save her people, risking her life in the process (Scroll of Esther
4:16). Rather than rhapsodizing about her feelings, she put her life on the
line.
Following this
tradition, our founding fathers put the following into writing: “…we mutually
pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor…” These
were not empty words. They risked, and many of them lost, their wealth and
property, their families’ security and their health. These men put their signatures on a document
knowing that not only death, but also torture, would greet them if their bid
for freedom from England failed.
Here is an
intriguing question. In recent history, which of our leaders do we believe
would sacrifice himself for the American people? No guesswork is needed for
those presidents, Republicans and Democrats, who were military heroes; Dwight
Eisenhower and George Bush Sr., come to mind. In my own mind, I think that
others, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan fit the profile of
men who felt their office to be an obligation rather than a privilege. This
willingness to give all to one’s country doesn’t mean their policies were
necessarily wise or good, but it does suggest their presidencies were not
centered completely on their own ego.
During World
War II, King George of England did not send his own wife and daughters away
from London, despite the Germans targeting the city for bombing. By this
action, he proclaimed that he and his family would rise or fall with the people
under his rule. If President Obama truly believes in his health care program and
cares about the health of all children, why doesn’t he step forward and have
his own family (and his Congressional supporters), reap the benefits or pay the
price of his legislation, rather than being exempt from it?
Only God
knows whether, in his heart, the president truly believes his policies are good
for America or not. We can’t judge his heart, but we can judge his words and
more so his actions. His words do not even reach the level of Bill Clinton’s,
“I feel your pain.” Instead, they focus on him – he is mad. The implication isn’t
that he is mad at himself, but at others. Are we supposed to send sympathy
cards to the occupant of the White House? He initiated and pushed through the
health care law. He promised it would help the people. The president should not
be mad; he should be apologetic, contrite, humble and mortified. He should acknowledge
his own failure of leadership, vision and ability. With the same passion as he
showed in promoting this legislation he should be urging his super-wealthy
Hollywood and business pals to donate money in order to pay back the American
citizens whose taxes were wasted on building a system that is failing so
drastically.
It is fair
to ask if President Obama’s actions suggest that he, like leaders before him,
would choose poverty, disgrace and even death rather than harm the American
people. Saying you are upset is easy. Stepping
forward and changing your behavior, undergoing embarrassment, pain and suffering
to make things right, would make the words ring true.
Can you get help with evaluating campaign promises?
Truly,there is nothing new under the sun.
Meet Nimrod and learn his secrets.
I have 1 added question. Has anyone noticed how Obamacare is going to force about 35% of the population into Medicaid? This is a bigger problem than most people realize. My brother had a girlfriend who was on Medicaid with health problems and when she died the government went in and took all of her property within 1 week. Not even time to mourn properly. And, to keep this from happening, you have to put your stuff in someone else’s name and keep it there for 3 years before you die. Taking in mind that most people who get on Medicaid are on deaths doorstep because they can only have about $1200 in liquid assets, most people wouldn’t want to be on it if they knew the costs. These costs are the only ones I know of. There may be more. The way Obamacare is going to force people into Medicaid is because it is forcing people to get insurance that they may not be able to afford otherwise. I heard this on the morning news this morning. Of course, they didn’t put it forth as a negative thing. They put it forth as a light for those people who can’t afford to buy their own insurance because they no longer have a job to pay for it. They also said Medicaid, not Medicare. There is a difference. In my opinion,
(Susan here -I am being deleting heartfelt last sentences in these comments because I really want to stay on topic – hope you forgive me.)
Taking responsibility has never been part of President Obama’s history. As a state senator, he routinely voted “present” (with the exception of legislation that offered compassionate care to children not successfully aborted – to that he voted a resounding and very telling “no”). Even the rhapsodic New York Times couldn’t cover up the fact that as a community organizer, he worked on one project and left before the job was completed. His resume shows a serial underachiever (Jean: I deleted your last sentence simply because, while it wasn’t offensive, I want to try and keep conversation on target.)
Right. The phrase “The Buck Stops Here” was a phrase coined by President Harry S. Truman, and he enshrined the phrase on a plaque on his White House desk. It meant a gesture both responsible and noble: “if it happened on my watch, I must accept the responsibility.”
One other example of fine leadership from history: Julius Caesar the military commander. When Caesar’s troops on campaign were on forced starvation fare, dining on boiled shoe leather, so was Caesar. Caesar by virtue of his rank could have dined on pheasant and filet mignon. But in graciously accepting whatever hardships his men had to endure, he proved himself unwilling to ask of his men anything he himself would not undertake. By demonstrating such solidarity, he won the loyalty of his men.
Yet our upper Political Class seems intent on feathering its own nest with pensions and Rolls Royce medical plans while consigning the masses to economic peril and sentencing them to Obamacare. And the president of this incipient banana republic plays eternal golf and jets around on million-dollar vacations while monster regulation devours small business and the private sector, like Nero fiddling while Rome burns.
Wouldn’t a brilliant community organizer have a solid, intuitive grasp of the principles of leadership of Caesar and Harry Truman? As for the great president that so many see in him… Folks, open your eyes.