Much as I should slap myself for citing the astrological news magazine Astropost, as a source, they do remind us that Barack Obama's presidential hero is JFK. Nothing wrong with that... well, maybe. For anyone who equates the civil rights struggles of the 60s with the civil rights struggles of today (e.g., healthcare, equal rights for minorities, etc. ) it says a lot that Obama hearts Kennedy.
It might be painful to say it, but Obama really reminds me of Kennedy in that he talked a good talk but achieved nothing much of substance during nearly three years in office. As any historian might remind us, "no obvious civil rights legislation was signed by Kennedy." His predecessor Eisenhower did more: he proposed and signed the 1957 and 1960 civil rights acts, he sent the National Guard to Arkansas to enforce Brown v. Board of Education. But Kennedy? True, he started the ball rolling by submitting the 1963 civil rights act but, up until then, he'd been better known for his "lukewarm position" on institutionalized racism. So who the hell knows if the bill would have passed had it not been for LBJ?
I can't help seeing a parallel between Obama's stirring campaign speeches on healthcare reform and Kennedy's stirring Civil Rights Address - all fine words largely untranslated into reality. And don't tell me healthcare reform was a big achievement. Like millions of other uninsured Americans, I'm no nearer to accessible, affordable insurance than I was under Bush. It's like a civil rights act that took down the "whites only" signs but left the water fountains still off-limits.
Obama might be determined to go down in history as a JFK rather than an LBJ. But, all things being equal, give me the yahoo from Texas barking orders from the presidential can over a smooth-talking crowd pleaser any day. We need doers. We've had enough of sayers right and left who've done nothing. And, like Bush before him, we've definitely had enough of presidents preoccupied with their own legacies while the country goes to sh*t around them. Screw the image, screw the legacy... lead for f*ck's sake!
Man, it really hurts to say it, but I see now where the Tea Party rage comes from. I see where the weird hate for 'elitism' and intellect is rooted... because I'm getting it too. While average guile and an IQ above 50 stops me grabbing a misspelled sign and monkey-boying for the Koch brothers... I can see where that 'bagger anger comes from. That anger might make a drastic wrong turn along the way into racist insanity and half-wit worship, but the frustration with all-talk, no-action DC is an undeniably large motivator.
Who knows, maybe if Obama had beaten his own party into line, said "f*ck you" to the obstructionist GOP and bullied through some real reform, many of the less rabid 'baggers would now be giving him props, appreciating his leadership, reaping the benefits whether they wanted them or not... There'd be fewer Christine O'Donnells and Joe Millers pushing the angry buttons... and the midterm opposition the Dems are now facing would be less insurmountable.
In the name of sanity, give me an LBJ, give me an FDR... hell, give me an Eisenhower! Give us f*cking leadership! Sweat equity not lip service!
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Well, hopefully some dumb redneck cracker assed motherfucker from Texass won't shoot him before we have a chance to find out.
ReplyDeleteYea, I really liked LBJ myself. I think he was one of the most effective presidents we've ever had.
Great picture! It says a lot!