Barack Obama: The wrong man for the wrong time

(Wikimedia/Matthias.kötter)

As the presidential election of 2012 approaches, Americans will be looking back over President Obama’s first term in office in an attempt to determine whether he is worthy of a second term. Obama’s first term began with high hopes that he would be able to heal the partisan rift that split the nation, heal the wounds left by the recession and restore the image of America abroad that was tarnished by the wars against the terrorists.

President Obama entered office with a strong mandate and high approval ratings. Almost immediately he began to expend his political capital on the stimulus law of February 2009 that he said would keep unemployment rates from rising above eight percent and help put America back to work. While the stimulus did include some “shovel-ready” public works projects and minor tax cuts, much of the nearly $821 billion was wasted on a laundry list of long-time liberal wishes. The CBO estimates the cost of each stimulus job created or saved at $228,055.

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Meet the candidates: Ron Paul

Rep. Ron Paul (US Congress)

Judging by the number of “Ron Paul for President” signs in the Atlanta area in 2008, Congressman Ron Paul had some of the most loyal and motivated supporters of any candidate in the 2008 presidential primaries. Sadly for Rep. Paul and his supporters, that devotion did not translate into widespread appeal. Rep. Paul finished fourth in the Georgia primary with only 2.9 percent of the vote. It wasn’t much better in other states. Paul failed to win a single primary, although he did finish second a number of times.

Now Ron Paul is running for president again. After four years of Barack Obama’s record-setting spending, Paul’s message of fiscal restraint may be more attractive to recession-weary Americans. Nevertheless, a RealClearPolitics average of polls from April and May 2011 shows Paul in sixth place with 7.9 percent. He trails Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich respectively. He leads Herman Cain, Michelle Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitch Daniels. Paul might get a slight bump from the recent withdrawals of Huckabee, Trump, and Daniels.

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What would Reagan tell Obama?

Perhaps President Reagan's ghost still lingers in the White House and can advise Barack Obama.

Barack Obama and I have at least one thing in common. We both came of age in the era of Ronald Reagan and the Pax Americana. While Obama was attending Columbia University and becoming a community organizer, I was growing up in a small town in northeast Georgia. What we learned from President Reagan was vastly different, however. Obama grew to oppose all that Reagan stood for, while admiring his charisma and political prowess. I grew to appreciate the truth of Reagan’s words and beliefs. If Obama really admires President Reagan, he should look past his personality and the mere fact of his political success to see effectiveness and truth of the ideas behind Reagan’s actions.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: What would Reagan tell Obama? – Atlanta Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/what-would-reagan-tell-obama-1#ixzz1DEStfEEu