Get me an Obama

When the present Obama appeared on the scene, he was pitch perfect. A casting director looking for the first black U.S. president couldn’t have made a better choice. Looks? Check. (Denzel Washington has too much of an overbite, Will Smith’s ears are too big, Forrest Whitaker has a lazy eye. Obama? Tall, fit, excellent posture, great features.) Brains? Check. (Remember that when he appeared at the Democratic Convention in 2007, having brains was not yet considered a liability and “professorial” was not yet an insult.) Personality? Check. Obama appeared both forceful, back then, and equanimous, back then and now–why, the man qualifies things he disapproves of as “silly.” Experience? Mmmm… Somewhat scant but given the rest of the packaging, it would do. Fund-raising power? Stellar. Attracting big names? Pretty much across the board on the blue side.

So what happened? Not what they say happened. That the economy, world economy that is, is going down the drain, that unemployment is sky high and government no longer allowed to plan its budget has not much to do with Obama. (I would question his ability to find the right people to deal with the crisis, though. His Treasury Secretary cheated on his taxes and played wide-eyed innocence when questioned about it: Who? Me? No, no, blame Turbotax. As for the Fed Chairman, his middle name should be Limbo, as in “how low can you go?” All he knows is to lower interest rates, not necessarily a good idea.) But our complicated world has grown infinitely more complex these past couple of years. International policy has become impossible to set.

Look at the situation: Obama rid the world of that ugly hatemonger Bin Laden. He is ending a war that should not have been waged and bringing home what remains of our mauled and scarred troops. Now he navigates the shoals between Bibi Netanyahu’s lies, Ahmadinejad’s threats, Putin’s death grip on an exhausted Russia and the European Union’s helpless moves and yet can’t achieve much on any front. All he gets is the choir on one side howling at him for American meddling and on the other side howling at him for America not intervening. As for domestic policy, it has become a minefield, courtesy of a GOP and its base gone mad. Unemployment, immigration, healthcare, the environment, the only light at the end of any of these tunnels seems to be the proverbial train coming from the other direction.

Obama will probably get reelected, if only because of the present shooting-gallery lineup of bizarre Republican candidates. I myself may end up voting for him the second time around as I did in 2008, but then again, I may realize how hopeless it is and give up altogether. Unless a new guy appears, all dewy-eyed and raring to go, and I once again believe that promises can be kept and the world become a better place.

Meet Iranian Singles

Iranian Singles

Recipient Of The Serena Shim Award

Serena Shim Award
Meet your Persian Love Today!
Meet your Persian Love Today!