Americans are a nation of impatient people.
I believe one of the primary reason we developed touch tone phones was due to the fact so many of us were impatient when it came to dialing a rotary phone. Heaven forbid a phone number have a 8, 9 or 0 in it. The time it takes to dial 9 and have to listen to click...click..click..click..click...click...click...click....click....was maddening!
How many of us when using the microwave, put something in that is suppose to take 90 seconds, yet we pull it out before the timer goes off. We complain about waiting at a streetlight for 30 seconds. We prefer our DVR's because we don't want to sit through watching commercials. No indeed....just get us back to the shows we are watching, no time to hear about dying dogs or men with erectile problems.
We are a nation of impatient people.
We are also a nation of people with selective memories. As I have said many times on Newsvine threads of conversation, I am a politics junkie....I love it. One of the most annoying aspects of being a politics junkie is that I listen carefully to all things political. I listen to what politicians say and all of the nuances associated with speeches. I know when a politician is BSing me or placating me, and I can tell when they are sincere and speaking from the heart. I understand and respect that most (not all) men and women enter politics for sincere and honorable reasons geared at making changes. I also recognize for some, in the process of making changes in government, government changes them. I get it...I'm no dummy.
However what annoys me is that everyone doesn't share my beliefs. Worst of all, the very people whose jobs are to disseminate and report to us what our politicians have to say, they are increasingly reporting the news as if they haven't heard a word a politician has said. In this instance I will be direct in saying I am referring to President Obama.
During the 2008 presidential campaign I heard over and over again, Barack Obama say he wanted to become president so that he could be a part of changing Washington. That he could not do it alone and that it would take the cooperation of all Americans and those elected to congress and the senate. Like a minabird from state to state, city to small town, he repeated himself. Every time he spoke of change he followed up immediately by saying it wouldn't happen overnight and maybe not even in one term, but that he would do all he could to bring about change. This isn't just my opinion or my slant on his words, do your own research and view the countless videos of his campaign from 2008 available online. You will find what I am saying is accurate.
Yet years later the media and commentators gather on our cable news to pick apart and analyze the polls..."Well Obama said he would do this, but hasn't.......said he would change that, but he hasn't....." Really? Is Barack Obama a dictator or the president? Is he sitting on a throne requesting this and that to be done and not expecting anyone to question his authority, or is he in the White House working alongside an administration that recognizes in order to get a majority of what he wants to accomplish, he must rely on the congress and senate? Given the fact the Republicans proclaimed proudly the day he was sworn in they would be obstructionists and that they have lived up to it, why are the speculations swirling about Obama not doing enough?
It came out right after the President announced we had captured and killed BinLaden that we had been working for years (starting shortly after he took office) on strategic plans to verify where BinLaden was hiding out and how to go about capturing him. Complicated and intricate plans that the President was in on step by step. And all along there was a flurry of criticism by the media and the American public alike, questioning his actions. Most choosing to say he wasn't doing enough. The night that President Obama made the announcement about the raid and capture, there were millions of people with egg on their faces for doubting him. We learned from this that the President doesn't and can't share every detail of what happens behind the scenes at it relates to military matters for obvious reasons. Does anyone think the raid on BinLaden would have been a surprise if it had been discussed openly in the media and via online sites such as this one?
In the wake of the murder of Chris Stevens in Libya, now the media and commentators are piling on Obama and throwing out there the argument that Obama isn't handling the aftermath of this terrorist attack correctly and questioning his handling of Middle East issues.
Really? Am I the only one that learned a lesson from the raid on BinLaden's home in which he was captured and killed? As I said, Americans have short memories.
I believe Barack Obama when he says we (Americans) will hunt down and hold accountable those that killed the 4 Americans at the U.S. Embassy. Why are news commentators and many Americans doubting that? Must he and his administration take to the microphone (as I have heard many news people insist he should) and lay out in detail what America is doing and will do to bring Stevens murderers to justice? I say no. I say Barack Obama needs to do with Libya what he did with BinLaden, keep it to himself and his staff.
The same goes with Iran. Everyone is in an uproar saying he isn't doing enough, saying enough......Really?
Well I may be the only American that feels this way, but Barack Obama has proven himself to be a very intelligent, savvy and shrewd man. He is not naive, he is not stupid. He is insightful, calculating and detailed. My guess is as you are reading this today - the US military leaders have already embarked on surveillance and military actions to make sure the U.S. has justice for our citizens killed and as it relates to Iran.....my guess is we are already doing things behind the scenes that will make them cower at the next thought of even attempting to use the nuclear weapontry they have acquired.
Think I'm wrong? Do you really want to end up looking like Donald Trump at the 2011 Correspondent's Dinner? In other words.....a fool.