NO, MICHELLE, THE PRESIDENT IS NOT JUST LIKE ME

NO, MICHELLE, THE PRESIDENT IS NOT JUST LIKE ME
by Andy Weddington
Wednesday, 05 September 2012


"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Abraham Lincoln (attributed to)


And, let me be clear, Michelle Obama, not only is the president not like me, he's not like most Americans. 

But I won't be so presumptuous as to speak for most Americans. For now a simple comparison between the president and one typical, rather average American, me, will do.

Unlike the president...

I was born and raised in the United States of America;

I was raised by American parents - a man and a woman;

I was raised Roman Catholic and in a home where morals, ethics, values, standards, and expectations shaped my life and the lives of my siblings; 

I was raised by parents who did not use drugs, did not associate with those who did, and did not say nor act out anything disparaging against our country;

I was raised by hard working parents and I started working when big enough to push a lawn mower; age 10 or 11; 

I was taught, as part of a big family, the importance of sacrifice, teamwork, and humility;

I learned the lessons of sound money management, the hard way, by age 13;

I was taught that you work for what you want and save - don't expect handouts, from anyone, but help others when you can; 

I did not hang with peers smoking marijuana, dropping acid, using cocaine and getting into whatever mischief idle wayward youth find; 

I was not mentored by known communists and radical left wing nut jobs who carried out attacks against our government;

I did not seek out left wing nut jobs to befriend;

I did not keep company with derelicts, criminals, nor undesirables;

I did not falsely present myself as a foreign student to garner special attention and consideration for admission to prestigious colleges and access to tuition money;

I did not attend a church for 20 years and listen to its spiritual leader rant and spew hate and disdain for our country;

I did not seal my collegiate academic work so employers could not see it;

I served honorably for nearly 27 years as a United States Marine;

As a Marine officer, I did not make excuses for personal shortcomings and failures - of which I had my share, and I quickly stepped out of the spotlight when my unit shined and more quickly stepped forward to assume responsibility when it did not;

I swore, to God, an oath of allegiance to the United States of America at least ten times and meant every single word;

I obeyed the rules and laws and did not attempt to circumvent them for convenience nor personal gain; 

I did not apologize to anyone, friend or foe, for America being America;

I did not leak national security secrets for any personal gain.

And those are the first differences that come to mind, Michelle. And they are not circumstances unique to me. They are circumstances common to the majority of Americans.

So, please, tell me how it is the president is just like me? 

The fact of the matter is the president is nothing like me. Even four years ago, through the fog - clever prose, skilled preaching, and manipulating emotion, I still clearly saw the differences. 

Nor is he anything like most Americans. And now, finally, the majority of Americans see through the fog and understand the president is nothing like them.

You asked for four more years?

Based on what?

A good guy? A good husband? A good father? And by what benchmark and whose standards?

I do not, nor does any other American, necessarily care about those qualities for the issue at hand - the presidency of the United States.

So our many differences aside, this is not personal.

America needs a good president. And the bottom line is your husband, Barack Obama, despite whatever redeeming personal qualities, has not been - by any standard of empirical, objective, or subjective assessment - a good president.

The fact is by the very goals he outlined and promised four years ago he has failed. And failed miserably. He has not earned four more years. And therefore does not deserve four more years.

Remember, the president works for me and my fellow Americans and his is a performance-based job - efforts are not to be confused with results.

Come Tuesday, 06 November Americans will formally deliver their performance appraisal.

Best to begin preparing yourself, your daughters, and the president, for the real possibility of exiting the White House. Should that come to be, please do so graciously - with the decorum expected of a First Family. America will need your example to follow.

Finally, sincere thanks, to you and the president, for service to country.

Post Script

Your remarks before the DNC Tuesday evening sounded more Republican than not. Interesting.

Author's Endnote

Thank you, Mom & Dad!