WHY THE PEOPLE AREN’T LISTENING MR. PRESIDENT

 

For reasons that are hard to understand and even harder to explain the American people forgive candidates who lie to get elected. It is common to hear a pundit dismiss an elected official’s statement made while campaigning as mere electioneering. Amazing isn’t it that we allow candidates to lie to us when we are trying to determine the best choice between people to wield government authority. Why would we then shift our expectations and assume that our elected officials will tell us the truth? I have no answer, just the observation that each succeeding election cycle seems to lower the bar for what passes for acceptable.

The standard does change for most Americans once the candidate takes the oath of office. We expect people in elected office to run the country’s government within the law and to be honest with us. President Nixon learned the consequences of lying to the American people about the Watergate hotel break-in. President Obama is learning that we will not accept lies from the occupant of the oval office. He has behaved as if the Alinsky motto of, “the end justifies the means”, gives him the right to not only lie to us but also govern beyond his Constitutional authority.

Each time the administration has claimed not to have had prior knowledge about illegal acts done by people under the control of the executive branch, trust is eroded. The administration looked at best inept when we learned that Justice Department personnel lost track of guns run into Mexico on some kind of sting operation. Denials of upper level planning at both Justice and State Departments started to have a false ring to them as the “rogue” individuals involved started to testify to the orders they had received. Gun shop owners were initially blamed by the ATF for selling the guns illegally until we learned they were instructed to do so by the ATF. The full impact of the scandal didn’t have time to sink in before others followed. Campaign fund bundlers kept popping up as nominees for federal office, and there was Solyndra’s demise just as another bundler for Obama caused MF Global to implode. The attorney who blocked all legal challenges to Obama’s eligibility for office moved to the head of the line for a Supreme Court nomination without any judicial experience. Justice Department personnel got exposed for wire tapping AP reporters in their homes and the media kept almost silent on the whole stinking mess. How about NSA spying on citizens and the Bengazi cover-up? Testimony about targeting of conservative and TEA Party groups by the IRS is just full of contradictions and even gave us top officials invoking, their fifth amendment, rights to avoid self incrimination. The President’s reelection campaign profited from these illegal acts. They knew nothing about any of them?

The stench growing around the administration has gotten so bad that the Presidents job approval rating and personal trustworthiness pole numbers are racing each other down hill. Most Americans now say that they don’t believe the President when he speaks. The most damning of all for the President are his oft repeated lies used to sell Obamacare to the county. “If you like your healthcare plan you can keep it, period.” And “If you like your doctor you can keep him, period.” The twin utterly false claims were used to calm Americans fears about the effects of the new law as conservative lawmakers and pundits took to the airwaves to warn us. Americans are finding out the hard way that the President lied and that we are all going to pay the price for believing him on healthcare.

The Attorney General and NSA chief lied to Congress with no repercussions. Hillary ducked testifying on Bengazi using questionable health issues until she thought enough time had passed and we would accept her, “at this point what difference does it make”, defense. It makes a difference! Americans forgive for a while but the administration has been caught in so many lies that nothing they say is now believable.

The people are not listening Mr. President because they don’t believe what you say. It isn’t because you’re half black or because FOX NEWS is saying bad things about you. Rush and the rest of the conservative talk show world keep turning out to be right. You said on the floor of the Senate once that even debating the raising of the debt ceiling was evidence of a failure of leadership. Now you tell us that not raising the debt ceiling is dangerous and irresponsible. One is left to wonder if you were being truthful the first time or now. They cannot both be true.