Obama the Scapegoat

I notice in the papers, especially in Letters and OpEd sections, that President Barack Obama is singlehandedly to blame for most if not all our national woes. How convenient. Many of my fellow citizens load all our sins on the shoulders of this one unblemished young firstborn and send him off into the wilderness to perish or not among the smog, oil spills, joblessness, foreclosures, quagmire wars on the other side of the world, and flailing economies around that whole world. See Leviticus 16, especially verses 21 and 22, for an ancient religious model for the myth that has been transmuted into the claim that one elected being can be responsible for the accumulated sins of all.

The failures attributed to Barack Obama are largely ours. In that, he fits the sacrificial model. But:  We elected him based on his character and the goals he eagerly espoused, then stepped back to let him accomplish anything that was to be accomplished -- all on his own.  How much help has he had from the big players?  From Congress -- either major party? From the banks and investment firms? From the global corporations? From the media? And from the collectively big players --  the individual voters, all of them, but especially those who put him into office? How many of us have done our part to accomplish what he asked?

And to think out from there:  Why get bent out of shape when any president is not able to accomplish something he or she hoped to accomplish?  Surely we can be smart enough to see that governing the U.S.A. is not a solo act. Nor can someone campaigning for an office know all that will be revealed to him once inaugurated. One notable example is the first President Bush, with his popular campaign promise:  "No new taxes." The realities of governing eventually demanded just that, and he was wise enough to support necessary new taxes.

Voters should look for a refined but sturdy character, flexible consistency, and astounding endurance. Campaign plans and promises are mostly useful for helping reveal the character of the candidate, and who or what may be influencing him or her.

Signing out . . . keep your stick on the ice.