Our Panderer in Chief

            Barack Obama is a nice guy. I think I would enjoy playing a round of golf with him. As long as we didn't talk about any serious issues, I might also enjoy having a beer with him afterwards. He also appears to be a great family man, a loyal and faithful husband, and a loving dad. These days, when the responsible black head of family is a vanishing breed, the President is a superb role model. Too bad he is such a lousy president.

            It has become clear that Obama was not ready to hold such a high office. He has never held a real job, unless you count the time he was a community organizer or an undistinguished state legislator or U.S. senator; he has never run a business or been responsible for a bottom line; he has never understood the virtues of capitalism and free enterprise; and he has never appreciated the exceptional role this country plays on the world stage. What he has learned, on the other hand, is how to manipulate public opinion to get elected.
            Candidate Obama wanted us to believe that he would unify this country. He has done exactly the opposite: he is the most divisive president in history. He has encouraged us to resent the rich and successful. He has blamed Bush and the Republicans for the country's economic failures. He has also blamed the Japanese tsunami, the big banks, big oil, Wall Street, and Europe for delaying the recovery. As for himself, well, he accepts no responsibility for any of our country's ills, not high unemployment, not the housing crisis, not the raging deficits.
            Meanwhile, he is in full campaign mode and has been for close to a year. At last count he has made 180 trips on Air Force One to beg for money and to preach to selected adoring groups. All on the taxpayer's dime, of course.
            If there is one word that characterizes the President's style, it is pandering. It's all part of his divide and conquer strategy.
            He panders to the environmentalists by funding failures like Solyndra, by killing job-creating ventures like the Keystone pipeline, and by unleashing his EPA attack dogs on fossil fuels. He panders to the abortion lobby by enacting a health care law that affronts Catholics. He panders to gays by rejecting the Defense of Marriage Act.
            He panders to blacks by encouraging the likes of Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Sharpton to fan the flames of racial hatred and by suing states to prevent them from enacting voter I.D. laws. He panders to Hispanics by refusing to enforce immigration laws and by suing those states that would, and by issuing executive orders to bypass Congress in achieving his ultimate goal of amnesty for illegals.
            He panders to the UAW, the AFL-CIO, the NEA, and public sector unions. He panders to Food Stamp recipients, to seniors, to the Occupy Wall Street crowd. He panders to Muslims by celebrating their non-existent contributions to the nation's history.
            If you belong to a group that he hasn't pandered to yet, let him know. I'm sure he can find a way to fit you in.