Soap Box

I will be the first to admit that I have been bitterly disappointed in President Obama's tenure. Some of the disagreements are philosophical in nature, the fact that he believes in a different America than the one I believe in, a bigger government, more bureaucratic control, income redistribution, basically a European style socialism, which, in my opinion, is doing damage to the nation that will take decades, if ever, to repair.

Political differences are nothing new and I don't think we've had a president in my adult life that I didn't disagree with on one political point or another, or in some cases, many.

The political and fiscal debacles that Obama will leave behind, while formidable, are not insurmountable, if approached with common sense and understanding of the patience and sacrifice it will take to undo the damage that's been done.

His lack of leadership is an entirely different situation. Under Obama's watch, race relations have drastically deteriorated with little or no input from the White House, as a president who went in to office with a mandate, both houses of Congress and the overwhelming good will of a majority of the American people, which together constituted a license to do just about anything he wanted, wasted opportunity after opportunity to heal America's division.

For older African Americans who thought they'd never see the day when they could vote for a black president, the hopes and expectations were through the roof, thinking that at last, here was a man who actually understood first hand what it was like being black in America, someone who could address the unique problems that only people of color could understand.

The facts and statistics bear out the reality that Obama has done little to address the problems that plague them and unemployment and professional advancement have actually shrunk under his watch.

He has stood on the sidelines and watched relations between African Americans and police worsen to the point that a faction of protesters were calling for the killing of cops.

I have to wonder what would have happened had a faction of anti-Muslim protesters had been going down the street shouting, �What do we want?� �Dead Muslims!� �When do we want them?� �Now!�

It's hard to imagine the White House being silent, and I would think that the Attorney General's office would have been frantic, issuing indictments and citing hate crimes.

The leadership vacuum has extended past the domestic arena and the results are evident in the deplorable condition of America's foreign relations. The balance of power and influence has shifted in the Middle East, and we are basically, at least philosophically, at war with Russia in Syria as we work at cross purposes in relation to the Assad regime.

We are no longer feared nor even respected, as Obama has proven that his word is hollow and his resolve is weak, having no stomach for standing up to the Putins of the world and his Iranian nuclear deal is little more than a one sided sad joke that could well be the catalyst for all out nuclear war in the Middle East.

Obama will leave America a much weaker and divided nation than the one he was elected to lead. He will leave mountains of debt, fractured racial relations, a national health care plan with catastrophic provisions that won't go into effect until after he's out of office, a Democratic Party that he has moved far to the left and a seriously tarnished American dream.

Where America goes from here will be very much in doubt until November when the electorate decides if we will continue down the same path with Hillary or Bernie or if we'll attempt a change of course with one of the Republican candidates.

The choice seems to be, do we go down the drain or begin to climb a very steep hill?

America desperately needs a leader, not a follower nor a procrastinator, not breaker of promises nor a doormat. Not a poll follower, but a leader.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem

God Bless America

� Charlie Daniels

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