To those black Americans who said that the Obama candidacy was a matter of destiny, and if he was not elected in 2008, that another black would never be elected President of the United States - you were correct in this regard.
We will likely never see an elected black President again, even if she or he is competent, capable and qualified to do the job, given the numerous failures of our current nascent and incumbent lame-duck President, Barack Obama.
Folks, the Obama candidacy was a matter of political expediency given the incompetence and ineptitude of the previous Bush Administration. The American voters were frustrated with the outgoing administration to the extent that they would have elected Lassie if he were alive and running for President in 2008. We will likely see a reprise of the 2008 election in 2012, however, the bumbling Obama Administration will likely be tossed out of office and replaced by Republican ideologues.
Other than for Mr. Obama's big ego which caused him to believe that he should leapfrog over more qualified and competent candidates who had paid their dues and prepared themselves to be President in 2008, he would have taken more time to prepare to run for the office of president of the United States in let's say 2012 or 2016. And now what do we have? Well let's just say that we have more of the same, a country that is starving for competent leadership at the top. His cabinet is one of the weakest in recent history; certainly a golden opportunity has been lost.
Obama's supporters here and around the world are shocked at his quick turnaround particularly as it relates to the Obama Administration's foreign policy. The latter mirrors that of the previous Bush administration despite all of Mr. Obama's promises to the contrary, during the run up to the election. He promised to lead the revolution and to bring about positive social change; instead he proved that he wasn't really any different from any other politician.
Oh I know what you're thinking; Solomon is just another brother who lacks the respect for another brother or sister who has succeeded where he has not. Au contraire my nitwitted friends, I have done quite well for myself, including my years spent in Washington DC, so don't worry about me - I know firsthand how the Washington DC establishment, including congress, works.
And, as I explained to many of Obama's supporters before the election, I considered the line of distinguished blacks who preceded the nascent Senator and now President from Illinois, going back to William Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King ... clearly there has been a considerable drop off in terms of quality, experience and skill with Mr. Obama.
Besides, when questioned about how he wanted blacks to view him and his candidacy during the run up to the election, he said that the blacks should vet him just as they would any other candidate.I did, and I don't apologize for doing so!
Would he have made a great leader someday? I suppose that the answer would be yes, particularly, if we would have taken the time to prepare himself and to be mentored by someone who knew and could teach him the ropes. Frankly, I blame those voters who supported this young inexperienced neophyte, a man who has been waffling and recapitulating all over American domestic and foreign policy since and before his presidential inauguration, more than I do Obama.
The voters behaved as the Republicans did in 2000, when they voted George Bush Jr. into office just about a decade ago. In this case both sides appeared to have got what they wanted in the short-run, change. But was the change a change for good? Apparently not, for similar to what oftentimes occurs with our children who periodically believe that they are prepared to take on more than they are capable of doing during certain periods of their lives, the adults in this case - the American voters should have said,
"Senator Obama you are definitely on the radar for the future, but for now go and continue to prepare yourself a bit more for the task of being President and leading a Revolution", for one speech at a Democratic Convention does not a president make.Instead, the voters, including the 'I am for the Iraq war, and now I am against the war democratic voters' behaved as children themselves, as they did before when they switched their votes from Senator Hillary Clinton to Senator Obama in the Primaries. Why? Because they misgauged Obama wins in several state caucuses, and because of an endorsement from the late Senator Ted Kennedy (his former seat now in the hands of Republicans may be a portent of the future). By the way thanks Oprah, you had a major role in this travesty yourself!
If I had the time, I would write about how this one man, Mr. Obama, put an end to a revolution, and I would write about how he did it in world record time. Mr. Obama was what the Republicans needed to derail the revolution, and he played right into their hands (the good campaigner but poor visionary and strategician that he was).
In the King James Version of the Bible, chapter 7 and verse 8, Solomon wrote that "The end of a thing is better than the beginning"!So in your mind you're thinking, then are you speaking out too quickly Reverend Solomon since he still has approximately 3 more years to turn things around.
No, I don't think so because in actuality one 'end' has already been achieved. Think of it this way, his run for the office represented 'the beginning', and it was the means to 'an end' that was fulfilled the day that he was he was elected and installed into office as President of the United States.
When you juxtapose Mr. Obama's nearly 2 year run for the office, and what took place when he began to occupy the office of the President, he reached a benchmark. Nothing will ever change the fact, that he was elected President of the United States and shortly after brought the Revolution of 2008, that was bigger than his ego, to an abrupt end.
Having said that, I wish him well, and hopefully he will succeed and turn out to be a good President after all. However, even if he learns and does turn out to be a good President in the final analysis, it will not alter the fact that he was the wrong person to lead the American Revolution of 2008, a revolution which he has summarily destroyed.
Just think about it again, it was less than two years ago, following the 8-year sadistic antics of a failed and unprepared President George Bush Jr., who along with the neo-conservative Bushtanista Party put most Americans, America's allies and many nations of the world off for good.
My God, even Republican Americans said, 'no mas' to George Bush Junior and his Bushtanista Party inner-circle before his 2nd term in office was completed!A groundswell of supporters at that time demanded change in America, and it appeared that they organized a majority (of voters) to accomplish their objectives.
Even individuals in other nations, including America's Allies mostly supported 'the dump the Bushtanistas Revolution', making the American revolution a world-wide phenomenon.And the Revolution succeeded right up to the day that the world and the majority of Americans got what they wanted, President Obama elected as the 44th President of the United States of America. It would appear that the objective was achieved, the Revolution was on track and America and the world were about to experience a notable change.
Even the Nobel Peace Prize Committee thought so, and they prematurely awarded President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize given all of the peaceful rhetoric he espoused, leading up to the election, as he gave stump speeches around the world. And based on his previous rhetoric coupled with his many campaign promises, the world also felt assured that he was going to set the world on a peaceful course. Nyat, he fooled them too!
And what did the young neophyte President do instead, afterwards? He not only single-handedly destroyed the momentum and the energy of the revolution; he also destroyed the revolution itself. Yesterday, while I was at church discussing this matter with a fellow parishioner who listened to my position regarding Mr. Obama's having destroyed the revolution; she blamed whatever failures there were with the Obama Administration on the Republicans. Naive?
Folks, in spite of the fact that Mr. Obama and his supporting cast had a mandate, a filibuster proof Senate and an overwhelming majority in the House, not to overlook the fact that soon afterward he received a Nobel Peace Prize which symbolized world-wide support of his articulated positions before he became President (his candidacy and the revolution), the capitulator as he often did during his run for the office continued waffling.
Even his supporters that he made campaign promises to, not the Republicans, began complaining. They began to wonder exactly which side this man was on shortly after the election. Even former Vice President Cheney and company loved and have recently applauded his foreign policy change of heart, particularly with respect to his change of position regarding the war in Iraq and his most recent position in the Middle-East.
And add to that, other former Obama critics who complained before when it was announced that he would receive the Nobel Peace Prize were jubilant when he changed course and gave his, 'Historical American Hegemony Was and Is Honorable Speech', at the Noble Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo Norway!
The gist of his speech at Oslo, as he scolded his former trenchant supporters and sycophants, was that 'Historical World-wide American Fascism Has Always Been Proper'. The latter implied that both he, his base and the world that supported him had been wrong all along during the run up to the election in 2008.My God, the man turned his back on the revolution that he was the poster child for just over a year ago. Not only that, he also turned his back on the individuals who supported his previously held position when he ran for office.
And Cheney replied in the aftermath of the speech at Oslo with an, 'aye aye matey great speech' endorsement! Can you think of a revolution that ever ended so abruptly? I can't think of one offhand, for neither the Sandinista nor Bushtanista Revolution fizzled out so quickly - the George Bush Revolution lasted for approximately 7-years. On the other hand there was the Ross Perot Revolution wasn't there? It ended in the middle of the night and most supporters awakened to find out that Ross had abandoned ship. I forgot that one!
But back to Obama, the leader of the fizzled out Revolution of 2008. And what of those followers and supporters (in and around the world) who were duped into believing that he could lead a world-wide revolution and help to bring about change, the ones who voted for him, believing that he could lead the world towards good?
Well, from what I have read, mostly everyone everywhere seems to be in shock, except for me of course and a few Obama stalwarts who are simply unwilling to admit that they were wrong.
Some have said that they voted for Senator Obama only because he was a better choice than Senator McCain. They still don't get it and refuse to admit that Senator Obama was not the right choice to run against Senator McCain, for even if he was able to defeat Senator McCain, what we needed was a finisher, and it does not appear that he is a finisher at all.
I predicted all along that President Obama would be as weak a President as our other former hero President of South Africa had been. Nelson Mandela, mostly everyone's hero, served in a 95% majority black South Africa for 2-terms and during that time the revolution that he led fizzled out as well.
In fact his successor, President Mbeki, lacked the potency and the fervor of the South African Revolution, which is imbued in those Africans who remain a part of the South African permanent underclass to this day (despite the inaugurations of 2 black presidents of South Africa). He resigned in frustration, before completing his 2-term presidency. So what went wrong in these two nations did you ask?
The fact of the matter is that people all over the word love populist candidates. Most of them are skillful orators, and that is about all that they are. They can rally a crowd at the drop of the hat, and each of them seems to have the gift of knowing how to push people's buttons. It is this group of political cheerleaders who are so adept at stirring up the crowds. But typically that is all that they are good at, for conversely they are never skilled enough to quarterback the game (and at this juncture Obama does not seem to be an exception to the rule).
On the other hand good leaders, not the churlish and presumptuous crowd-pleasing band leaders that most people will rally to and coronate at the drop of a hat seldom get voted into office. The latter often discover that is difficult to get elected, because the people often prefer cheerleaders like a Ronald Reagan, Obama Hussein, George Bush Jr. or Sarah Palin (the latter both having been cheerleaders before at their alma maters). Besides, who needs a sound, seasoned, just and prepared statesperson to be in charge?
Frankly, Americans have had a history of placing incompetents into the highest office in the land, for over the past 3 decades, going back to Ronald Reagan. And it turns out that he was a cause célèbre according to the individuals who benefited from his inane, divisive, leveraged buyout-green mail, trickle down, and warmonger policies.
And not to be outdone by his failed presidency, soon afterward, the American voters treated us to the likes of not ready for prime-time President George Bush Jr. and Vice President Dan Quayle. These two men carry the distinctive honors of, in recent time, being the most incompetent presidential and vice presidential team that the United States has ever known that of former high school cheerleader George Bush Junior and his functionally illiterate side-kick.
Everyone who was a part of this coterie of failed leadership came out of the Republican Party, a party that boasts that it has given America more presidents than the Democrats have over the past 30 years. Yes, but what kind of presidents did the Republicans give us and has anyone noticed that the decline of America runs parallel with these 'poor excuses for presidential leadership' that was provided by the Republican or better yet the Repugnant Party?
And not to be outdone, in more recent times, we have been treated to the Obama Presidency which could have just have easily been the John McCain and unprepared Sarah Palin co-regency. I wouldn't have voted for John McCain anyway, simply because I don't believe in his policies, however, I really don't consider him to be incompetent.
But his running mate Sarah Palin, come on now? Her own handlers have admitted in the aftermath of the 2008 Campaign, that she was totally unprepared for the office. But that did not stop millions of American from voting for Sarah (the former cheerleader).It is too bad that Obama supporters behaved in the same manner as their counterparts did by placing this untested man prematurely into the highest office in the land.
Do you see my point, that when it comes to the American voter (aside from the 40 to 50% who fail to vote anyway), the other half should consider taking a course somewhere - let's call it voting 101, that will teach them about the nuances of voting. Why?
American voters really don't know very much about revolutions or the electoral process for that matter. They only know what they hear from the American propaganda machine, sycophants and talking heads, the latter often use scare tactics. Another thing, the closest thing that most Americans have ever witnessed or known about, when it comes to a revolution, was the one that took place in the turbulent 60’s that came to be known as the Civil Rights Movement, which was a modern-day American Revolution.
And what did my cohort, the Reverend Billy Graham confess some years ago about that revolution that makes my point about what Americans know about Revolution? He concluded, at the time, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his supporters, mostly members of America's permanent underclass were the real troublemakers.
Not even Evangelist Billy Graham had a harsh word to say about America's true oppressors or its inane and unjust laws. Out of that revolution monumental attempts were made to restructure our society, given all of the programs of the Great Society that followed tear gas, police dogs, sit-ins, beat-downs and live-ins.
The question that the coalition of voters who came together to support the Obama Revolution should ask themselves is what really went wrong? The answer to what went wrong was not that a group of individuals from all colors, stripes and political persuasions stood up in one voice and demanded change.
What in fact went wrong was that the voters permitted their emotions to overtake sound judgment. Mr. Obama simply put was the wrong person to lead the revolution. He has proved that already, for when the pressure began, he wilted and the Revolution has since apparently fallen apart. It reminds you of the pressure that he experienced during the Primaries when be abandoned his pastor and church of 25 years ...
So now that we have gone through this experience together, what can we likely expect to take place in 2012 general election, particularly, when many members of the coalition have already bolted, including Independent Voters, and others are following suit? Fickle voters? The fact of the matter is that of late, I haven't heard of anyone singing 'Happy Days Are Here Again' since the inauguration.
If you were to ask the average American Voter whether or not she or he were happy, you would likely get a response that goes something like this, "DO I LOOK HAPPY"?In 2012, it is very likely that we will witness yet another talking-headed neophyte being placed into office, one who will swing the pendulum all of the way back to the conservative right: Bobby Jindal from Louisiana perhaps? But let's hope not!
Yes folks, it will be the Republicans turn the next time around. Look for a conservative ideologue to take over, if the ones who are responsible for the Obama candidacy do not come together and find a solution before it is too late. Is Obama the solution? Frankly, similar to his predecessor, George Bush Jr., he certainly does not care about the will of the majority of the people either, which makes him in my mind 'no different than GB his predecessor.
The coalition should keep in mind that it was President Obama who failed to keep his promises, and to lead the people's revolution that he pretended to support. It was not the coalition that failed, other than making him the leader of 'their cause', one which he was not prepared to lead.If the coalition does not come up with a solution, the next Republican ideologue who will likely spring from the Republican Tea Party will be grossly unprepared, and the rest of us will remain in the same boat that we have been in for nearly the past 30 years (the Clinton years being the exception) that of a headless country without a true leader. Where is the angst? We cannot permit the fire to go out!
In summary, even some of my very erudite and politically savvy and caring friends blew it this last time, albeit they are finding it hard to admit. I, on the other hand wrote in the candidate who did her homework and prepared herself to be President of the United States prior to 2008. I am so proud of her for refusing to seek the office of President, despite the pressure that she was under to do so shortly after she became the junior Senator from the State of New York.
Our current President did just the opposite, a few years ago, when he prematurely bolted from the United States Senate to toss his hat into the presidential ring.
Instead, Senator Clinton waited, completed the job that she committed to doing in New York. And she was, thereafter, tested in the crucible of American politics where she distinguished herself even more. In fact, she won the respect of her critics including her would be presidential opponent in the primaries. And as a result, now she is even more skilled and polished than she was before when she could have jumped the gun and ran for President nearly a decade ago.
In fact she, Senator Hillary Clinton, was more prepared then than President Obama is prepared to be President of the United States now, and he is the President of the United States now. How ironic! Chauvinism, misogyny, which one was it that derailed Senator Clinton in spite of her historical and proven track record of fighting for social justice for the American people, take your pick?
By contrast Senator Obama, had he not jumped ship at the same juncture in his career, to run for the office, having learned nothing yet, at the time, about being a United States Senator - he would have been much further along and would have likely garnered the respect of his Congressional peers.
A prime example of what could have been has been evident in the prolonged Health Care Reform Bill activity that has been going on in Congress. Perhaps if had waited and proven himself in the Senate, just as now Secretary of State Clinton did, he might have garnered the respect of his Congressional peers. And with the newly gained respect of his friends and foes alike on both sides of the aisle, there is a chance that a stronger version of the Health Care Reform Bill would have already been signed into law by the President.
It was a certainty among most voters, agree with her politics or not, that in 2008 Senator Clinton was prepared to preside over this nation and to see the revolution through to the end. And, she earned the right to lead the revolution that she has been fighting for all of her political career and she would have finished the job.And you know what, unlike many of the individuals who jumped on the Obama bandwagon, I feel pretty darn confident about the person that I wrote in for president of the United States, Senator Clinton, in the 2008 General Election. And since that time she has distinguished herself even more as Secretary of State. And as a result she has added another arrow to her quiver, while at the same time, the Obama mystique continues to fade.
Who was it that stood up to the Republicans years ago with respect to 'the vast Right-Winged Conspiracy’ that in fact existed then and still exists today? It was Senator Hillary Clinton. Now when will the man who had a mandate to stand up to the vast Right-winged conspiracy, follow suit? Er herm, don't count on it!
To wit, even during the 2008 Election, current Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Hillary Clinton's former opponent during the primaries, Senator John McCain, acknowledged that she was more than qualified to be president of the United States. On the other hand, he, Senator John McCain, did not share a similar opinion about his challenger, Senator Obama's, ability to preside over this nation. He felt that he lacked the experience to run for the office at the time
Subsequently, current Vice President Joe Biden confessed that she, Senator Clinton, was more qualified to be vice president than he was, even though he had served for a longer time in the United States Senate, going all the way back to and before the Justice Thomas confirmation hearing.
Sadly, we have all witnessed another chance for positive social change to occur in America, and that opportunity has dwindled away given the person that we rejected (Secretary of State Hilary Clinton) for rock star Barak Obama Hussein. Now it is my hope that that the cause won't die out even though the momentum has seemingly been destroyed and the air has been let out of the sails (given the public's wrongful selection of the not quite ready for prime-time youthful Senator from the state of Illinois).
I will always remember what the Wright Reverend once said during an interview regarding his former parishioner: He said that then Senator Obama "will say whatever he has to say in order to get elected". And it appears that he was right! However, even the Wright Reverend would likely have to admit by now that Senator Clinton was better prepared, and would have made a better President than his former parishioner Senator Obama has been up to now.
All of us who really understand what is going on in this nation and the world, and the direction that this nation and the world is trending towards, must continue to work together, repair the damage that has been done to the revolution and get it back on track. However, we need to do so with the right kind of leadership, to wit each one of us must release the leader that is inside of each of us! I suspect that any one of us, could do just as good a job as the individuals that we have been putting our faith in to represent us for years now. For we certainly couldn't do any worse, I suspect!
In conclusion: And to those of you who are thinking, awe Solomon is simply crying sour grapes because his candidate was not selected in the primaries to run for the office of President of the United States of America. My response to each one of you who feels that way, and to others who are sincerely wondering why I made the decision to supposedly 'waste my vote', is, how are you feeling about the individuals that you voted for, Obama Hussein and John McCain about right now? Are any of you happy, Republicans, Democrats or Independents?
In fact, it was not me who wasted my vote, apparently it was each one of you who wasted your votes and that is why you are so chagrined!For the fact of the matter is that my choice for President in 2008, has distinguished herself even more (in America and around the world).
Even in the court of world opinion, America's current leader, President Obama Hussein, isn't any longer viewed as the person that the world (nor his supporters) believed that he was, for that matter, during the run up to the election or since he was installed as President of the United States. Remember the record number of individuals who attended his inauguration or watched it on television? And how about the record number of individuals who voted for him, a feat never accomplished before in the history of the American electoral process? And what are each one of these individuals thinking or saying now?
The fact of the matter is that the President is doing so poorly that the Secret Service recently reported that death threats against the incumbent President have decreased substantially, since the time that he first entered into the office; and that is a good thing. On the other hand, the individuals who once feared his purported revolutionary candidacy, mostly from the Republican Right, neither fear him nor do they any longer believe that they have anything to worry about anymore. On the other hand, his supporters are the ones who can't sleep at night because President Obama is the gift that keeps on giving to the Republican Right!
And for those of you who are fully discouraged, now that a preacher is dumping on the current President hopeful, following the disgraced presidency of George Bush, here is a portion of a cool scripture for you (and is subject to interpretation of course).
Ecclesiastes 5:8 and 9a If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
Moreover the profit of the earth is for all:
In other words, someone higher is watching the whole matter, both human and non-human!
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
BTW: Reverend Graham has since apologized for his prior position regarding Dr. King and the Civil Rights Revolution. Perhaps someday Mr. Obama will apologize for his having stopped the unprecedented Revolution of his time. For as a result of his actions, many more individuals have become a part of America's burgeoning underclass, and I suspect that over the next 3 years, many more individuals will be added to their number if things don't change soon!