Is Barak Obama Delusional?

I enjoy the collective brainpower of blog-writers and those who offer comments to the posts. In the economic arena,  the writings of Doy Santos ("The Cusp") on Pro-Pinoy and J_ag always provide interesting perspectives.

J_ag offered up a comment the other day that made me laugh. It was something on the order of "Barak Obama is delusional . . ."

Now, I personally like President Obama. I also like J_ag's bluntspeak. And I even know what he is talking about half the time, and mostly he seems to make sense . . . but . . .

I think President Obama is the most diplomatic, classiest president the US has had in a long, long time. He is no cowboy shooting from the hip like George Bush. He has family values unlike Bill Clinton. He can give a speech, unlike George Bush, Senior. He is no crook, he doesn't stumble coming down airplane steps, he doesn't walk about with pen holder in his shirt pocket, and he doesn't sleep during Cabinet meetings. His accomplishments are remarkable: stopping a panicked meltdown of the global economy on the strength of his charisma and some bold decisions by his financial people, remodeling the health care system where so many presidents tried and failed, methodically extracting the US from Iraq and Afghanistan, killing the world's chief terrorist and many top-level Islamic murderers, rebuilding America's reputation internationally, and developing a successful new model of international policy, leading from behind the scenes, as was done in Libya.

Yet, at home in the US, citizens are seeing something entirely different. Indeed, if you look at President Obama through the eyes of a Tea Party reactionary, for example, he is obsessed about things that don't matter:  caring about the disenfranchised (the sick, the poor, the retired), for instance. Tea people are against his using "my tax money" to support those beggars.

If you look at President Obama through the eyes of an unemployed worker, he is an outrageous failure. He has not provided jobs.

Being a failure at making jobs appear clearly defines him as delusional.

The non-delusional view, of course,

Is that he was supposed to be the second coming of Jesus Christ,

Offering

Wine from water

Bread from heaven

and

Jobs from deficit reductions.

That is the non-delusional view. To hold that our leaders are miracle workers because they are supposed to LIVE UP TO OUR HOPES AND DREAMS and surpass man's limits.

Right.

Who's the real delusional party in that debate?

I do think President Obama has made a few key mistakes during his term. The biggest was to accept responsibility for the economy's collapse in late 2008. The meltdown occurred before he took over and it ripped trillions of dollars of wealth from consumers in collapsed home equity values and collapsed stock investment values. He should have left that albatross hanging around Republican necks while claiming responsibility for having saved the world from economic destruction.

He could ride that thoroughbred all the way to 2012.

But right now his donkey is bucking. And it is bucking because he claimed responsibility for correcting the economic collapse. That will take 10 years but he in effect promised he would correct it during his first term.

Big mistake.

If the Republicans could field a capable person as a candidate, they could take the White House.

But they field lunatics far beyond delusional. I look at the cast of characters and laugh. Just laugh. THIS is the cream of the Republican crop?

Two preening stuffed shirt religious nuts, a failed congressional leader, weird Ron Paul, a wild-eyed woman spouting platitudes, and a couple of people along for the ride. And please, please let Sarah Palin join the fray. She is the icing on the cake, the mayo on the hero, the froth on the cerbeza, the up of the chuck.

It is proving most entertaining, this Republican primary, like 30 red-haired clowns at the circus popping out at center ring from a blue and yellow Cooper-Mini. They do their somersaults and slapstick routine and pretend they are the real Jesus. But they are not. They are Brian, as in "The Life of Brian".

Sarah Palin within reach of the nuke button? Dull minded Perry in charge of international relations?

Give me a break.

I'll vote for delusional Barak Obama for another term. So will most Americans, I think, when they reflect on what it would be like under a knee jerk, dull witted, erratic president full of populist slogans and a lot of hot wind where reflection, candor and thoughtful action should instead reside.