OPINION: Obama could be the Republican MVP

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
4/2/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Obama losing support as he panders.

President Obama has long been criticized for his policies, but now more and more people are criticizing him for his conduct as President. There have always been those who dislike him for his affiliations, his controversial history, and even (sadly) for his race. Now Obama is giving people something more-and real to dislike.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - President Obama is being seen by more and more people as a disingenuous, bad faith actor. This perception is key. While the current crop of Republican candidates are being panned as uninspiring, public disillusionment with the administration is also high.

Recently, Peggy Noonan wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, "Not-So Smooth Operator." Noonan calls Obama as she sees him, which is as a deceptive politico.

This matters because the coming election will be close, and Obama's perception will be a critical factor.

There's a lot to talk about. From Obama's personal war with Catholics, to his hard-line stance against Israel, he's bleeding support.

Recently, during negotiations with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he promised "flexibility" on the issue of missile defense - after the coming election. A statement he made with an open mike during what he assumed was a private moment. The gaffe is telling - it suggests Obama is being dishonest with the American people.

Worse, it suggests he's selling out to domestic and foreign interests and his obligation to serve the people isn't being fulfilled. For longtime detractors, this is nothing new, but for former supporters, the realization is upsettingly fresh.

And the upset grows. His comments on the Trayvon Martin case seemed trivial and self-serving rather than a genuine expression of sorrow and a pledge to see justice served.

Perhaps President Obama's crowning offense has been, and continues to be, the healthcare debacle which finally saw its day(s) in court last week. While home values decline, unemployment and under-employment remains high, wages stay low amid fears of inflation, and international issues become crises, Obama seems to be able to do little more than make domestic enemies.

Main Street continues to reel from the recession (Wall Street is just fine, thank you) and Obama's top priority appears to be ensuring women can get free access to birth control and abortifacients.

Even the "compromise" he put forward to assuage the ire of Christians, particularly Catholics, over the HHS edict seemed superficial and contrived. Worse, his compromise did nothing to improve the situation either politically, or in reality.

The public has already lashed out at Obama once. In the 2010 midterm elections America seated a Republican majority in Congress. This has forced Obama adopt centrist positions on many issues, but his concessions are forced and Americans can feel it, and even many of his supporters don't like it.

If Obama loses the election in November, few people will mourn. Obama has been given four years, two with control of the House and Senate. Despite that control, Obama could not fix the economy, stave off a growing crisis with Iran, or otherwise improve the quality of life for Americans. It can be debated how much control he actually had over these issues, but had they improved he would certainly be quick to claim credit.

Even his legacy legislation - healthcare reform, seems destined for disaster.

We expect Republicans to say and do everything they can to defeat Obama. We do not expect Obama to help them - but so far he's doing a good job.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Obama, reelection, election, campaign, promises, disingenuous, lies, evil, mandate, HHS, healthcare, Obamacare, Catholics

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1 - 10 of 15 Comments

Judy
1 year ago
I hope someone can remember to mention ALL the Negative things Obama has done to our country when election time rolls around. They are so commonplace anymore who can remember from one day to the next? And we have had how much negative bashing and smearing of GOP candidates? ...all to Obama's favor. I am getting tired and the elections haven't even begun! I pray Someone remembers. Blessings...
vance
1 year ago
Obama can be credited to creating the Tea Party and finally waking up the Catholic Church to the fact the he and the Marxist Democrat Party are not the Church's friend. What is so sad is that he had to do so much damage to our country for people to wake up. The saddest fact is that there are still millions who will vote for him this November.
Joselyn
1 year ago
Hey Leo women wouldn't have to think about abortion if they didn't have sex outside of marriage. (rapes make up less than 1%) If Barack Obama is re-elected as president I'm going to cry...again. I cried when Bush left the white house because even if (IF) he was fake on certain things I KNOW he's against abortion. Obama is showing more and more his hatred for innocence and anything godly and not to mention his love of war against the Catholic Church.
Jackson
1 year ago
I am displeased with the way President Obama is running our economy and sticking his nose in Religious affairs like "Gay Mariage" which according to the Holy Bible is the Holy Union of a Man and a Woman. Gay folks need to invent their own type of Union but Mariage is not one of them. I think it is okay for them to not have to feel like hiding what they truly are in the Military. That is "Gay" Military being known is about time as I don't want this to be hidden. I wnat to know where I stand while serving along side a Gay Soldier. I mean lets face it there have been Gay Male Nurses as Medics in our U. S. Military for years. I served with several during the Vietanm War but they were not in my face about it either. (Just obvious). Having said that about equality, Obama came into the Presidency while the U. S. was failing in it's economy during the G. W. Bush Administration. I was hoping Obama could do something about that but so far nothing meaningful. I am not sure we have any candadates who has an instant cure. But I do think the major wealthy American business owners wth their jobs farmed out over seas should have to pay twice the income tax as an American Company who hires Americans here on our own soil. We need the libbiest banned from our Congress as they are adding too much baggage on any bill to be passed.
Nathan
1 year ago
Brian and Leo: Let's get to the facts. Obama is not being painted as being pro-abortion, he is pro-abortion. If you don't know that Obama is the most pro-abortion President in our nation's history, then you have not done your research (it doesn't take a lot of looking into to figure this out) and you have not been paying attention. Also, we are not talking about "rumors," we are talking about facts. It is not a rumor that Obama opposed a bill to save the life of babies who survived abortions, it is a fact that he voted against such a bill. Also, if you get serious about being a player in the pro-life movement it will not take you very long at all to realize that there are many Republican (and not all Republicans are perfect) politicians who have done lots and lots to help unborn children and their mothers. Let's not forget another fact: the Democratic party has officially placed on their platform the goodness of abortion. We don't need to be detectives to figure this out. Just open your ears and eyes.
Ted
1 year ago
I believe that people are naive to think that any politician honestly doesn't do things under the table that would alarm people as much as the president's most recent slip. Honestly, their goal is to satisfy their constituents and their party members. If anyone really believes that any one politician doesn't do this, then you've got your head in the clouds. The best thing we can do is use our power to vote and pray for those you don't like that are already in office. Politicians meet in private for a reason; we're not going to like what they have to say to each other when it gets down to the nitty gritty.
Jennifer
1 year ago
Brian A Cook, it's no rumor. As a state senator, Obama did in fact vote against the bill that was identical to the Federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act -- the law that said babies who survived the attempt on their lives were deserving of the care of a physician who wasn't previously trying to kill them, and that in fact, they had to be cared for and not left to die. (Yes, Brian, babies who survive an abortion are very often discarded and left to die.) Barack Obama felt such a law would be "too great a burden" on the woman and the abortionist, and so he voted against the measure. He voted in favor of infanticide. That's a fact, not a rumor.
Chris
1 year ago
Well, what would Our Lord say about Leaders in power? Consider the intellengence of an alleged appearence to Sr. Josefa Menendez about Pontious Pilate and you be the judge.

" Pilate's soul is typical of those who, tossed between the impulses of grace and the allurements of their own passions, blindly yield to human respect and excessive self-love; for if they are faced by a temptation or a dangerous occasion of sin, they blind themselves and argue, until they gradually persuade themselves that there is no harm, no peril in it.... that they are wise enough to decide for themselves and have no need of advice...they are afraid of seeming ridiculous in the eyes of the world...they lack energy to overcome themselves and not making use of grace the fall into one occasion of sin after another, until like Pilate, they deliver Me up to Herod."
Pastor Glenn Koons
1 year ago
The recent Admin. attack on the 1st Amendment is just the old playbook of division liberals use in every election. It could be race, ethnic groupings, class-wealth warfare, and now religious warfare. Since the old days of the FDR coalition of varied groups, liberals have woven a ....lie of unity. Since the rise of conservatism in the late '50's on, Americans have seen a real division: secularism versus traditional values . And remember, Roman Catholics were part of that old coalition but now this Administration has a war on Christianity as a divider in our society too. There never has been a President like this; the most radical one in my 73 years. As to disliking him; it is his policies that offend me. If Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Justice Thomas were President, I could trust their POLICIES. I cannot trust a liberal's policies because eventually as Jeanne Kirpatrick averred. , '(liberal Dems) always blame America.' Just so. And Obama is the poster child for doing that.
Mike Leonard
1 year ago
Leo are you seriously trying to excuse Mr. Obama, who has gone out of his way to promote abortion? He has even gone as far as to say that when a baby survives an abortion and is born that they should not receive any medical attention to prevent them from dying. He also is for the heinous act of partial birth abortion. What is wrong with you? Are you really going to excuse this evil over politics? I am truly wondering why people are able to excuse this behavior and outright hatred of the unborn.
Now as far as parties go I favor those who run for office who are closest to Godly principles. These involve loving God with all my heart mind, and soul and loving my neighbor as God loves us all. Anyone who supports or promotes or goes along with any immoral acts ,which God, who never changes says is immoral, these people my conscience will not allow for me to support.
The people I freely choose to elect are the people who the most closely resemble the Godly principles I follow. I believe that abortion is a grave sin against our loving God and against our neighbors both the mother who may feel pressured into the act because of unrighteous society demands and especially against the innocent human child that is being killed by all forms of immoral actions such as the very act of killing the child in the mother's womb where a child should feel the safest.
Mr. Obama has stated that he does not want his daughters to be punished with a baby if they were to get pregnant before they were ready to have a child. He is very deceptive and has lied several times to the American people. He lied about his immoral healthcare bill not funding abortion which it absolutely will, and he lied to the bishops when he stated to them that they would not force Catholics or the Church itself to provide insurance contrary to Church teachings in regards to contraception and especially abortion.
You stated that both sides do nothing about ending abortion, the repubs are constantly putting bills on the floor to make it more difficult for planned parenthood to operate their immoral procedures but the dems keep rejecting them. It is the dems who support immoral behaviors and their agents such as planned parrenthood, gay marriage, pornography (which literally means the devils pictures), which all are anti family and definately anti God.
The repubs are just as culpable for their silence because of their fear of the immoral media response. Every now and then a leader will rise up like Paul Ryan and Rick Santorum who are unafraid of the cowards who spew their hate and scare their constituients into believing in their malicious and unending lies. These people who support these unGodly and immoral lifestyles, are few but loud. They rant and rave and scare people who are very uninformed about God's Awesome Mercy and love for them. I feel sorry for them. They hate what they do not understand and should love, maybe because of past hurts from those who were not living the way that God says to. I do not judge the world only those who say they are christian but are false, and mislead many to a path of distruction. I believe the fruits that this current administration has shown are very immoral and destructive for us all. We will all stand before the Just Judge who will Judge us according to every word we speak and every deed we do, and according to our God given knowledge of what is right and what is wrong.

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