After news accounts of 95 rounds of golf played by the president (as of April 21) and 17 vacations taken by the first lady (as of March), 132 campaign fundraising events and countless "official" visits that more closely resemble campaign stops, Barack Obama is proving one thing: an elected official whose resume is purely political naturally will make every action purely political.
The 2008 presidential election revolved around a young Illinois senator with "community organizing" as his chief accomplishment who excelled in messaging and marketing the notion of "Hope and Change" with the admonition, "Yes, we can!"
Americans are working hard to get through a tough recession and deal with our problems as best we are able. In stark contrast, we see a man with great intellect and charisma more committed to a campaign schedule than the nation he serves.
Obama, the constant candidate, has failed to govern and lead.
While on the trail, there's soaring rhetoric with promises to solve unemployment with job growth. In reality, Obama's policies place greater burdens on small businesses and employers.
Promises to cut the cost of health care have resulted in a $940 billion health care program that has exploded into an almost $2 trillion government takeover of the doctor-patient relationship with actual cost increases.
On the stump, Obama declares the success of our nation's energy policy as the American public strains to deal with a doubling of gas prices and the headlines of a rejected pipeline that would have created jobs, reduced costs and decreased our dependence on unstable nations for oil.
America is operating for the third year without a budget with the approval of a president seeking cover for massive overspending during his first three years that has caused a $5 trillion increase in our nation's debt.
Our nation deserves much better.
Peter Drucker, a well-known writer and management guru, observed, "Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes."
President Obama, you are an effective politician and campaigner. America, however, needs a leader committed to actions that serve America first, not a campaign agenda.