BENEATH THE SPIN * ERIC L. WATTREE

In the interest of full disclosure, as a journalist, I feel ethically bound to make the following statement that should be taken into account whenever I write anything associated with President Obama:
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While I’ve written articles critical of President Obama in the past (and continue to stand by every one of those criticisms), overall, I’ve been such a huge supporter of his administration that I’ve been accused by some of his critics of being an Obama cheerleader. I’ve denied that allegation in the past, but after objectively looking over some of the articles that I’ve written over the course of his presidency, I now have to admit that I have indeed become an Obama cheerleader - but not because he’s Black, not because he’s liberal, and not because he’s a Democrat. I’ve become an Obama cheerleader because I love excellence, competence, integrity, and intelligence, and he’s demonstrated - at least to my satisfaction - that he represents all of those things. So I’m going to use this disclosure to try to help the public see what I see - one of the greatest presidents in the history of this country.
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I've studied Obama closely over the years, and I’ve found that he uses history and the strategies of the past to make his decisions. As a result, he’s been brutally criticized by some on the left for not approaching issues in the way that they would approach them. But his critics tend to forget that he’s president, and we’re not, for a very good reason - he’s smarter than we are.
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When most of us are passionate about an issue, we’re predisposed to fight to the bitter end for it. That’s an emotional response, not a thoughtful one. Take the issue of single-payer healthcare, for example. Many of us would have gone down fighting over that issue, but that’s exactly what would have happened, we would have gone down, and literally millions of Americans would have been deprived of affordable healthcare.
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It’s easy to go down fighting for a cause when our home is not that battlefield. But take a moment to consider if it was. Let’s say, for example, that you had a beautiful and precious daughter who was twenty-five years old, but she had a dreadful disease that cost $250,000 a year to manage. So far you’ve been able to get by because she’s a part of your healthcare plan. But the problem is, her twenty-sixth birthday is looming, and she’ll be kicked off of your health plan on her birthday, and you can’t find another affordable healthcare plan for her due to her pre-diagnosed condition. That would mean that your precious daughter would be facing a death sentence on her twenty-sixth birthday. Would you be critical of President Obama’s willingness to "cave-in" then? 
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I don’t think so. On the contrary, I think you would get down on your knees and thank God that you have a thoughtfully practical president in office who's not so blinded by self-interest, ideology, and political concerns that he failed to taken your situation into account. That was the situation for millions of Americans across this country, all of them not quite so severe, but the quality of their lives were being devastated nevertheless.(http://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/economy/2014/03/28/obamacare-enrollees/)
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So while some are jumping up and down and accusing Obama of caving in on healthcare and other issues, the president is willing to take the heat, because he’s practical, thoughtful, and selfless enough to see the big picture, and consider the needs of those who may not have the political clout to help themselves. In short, he’s willing to take the heat for those Americans who don’t have the time, and/or capacity, to make themselves heard. I find that very commendable, and rare, in today’s political environment.
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And at the same time, he hasn’t given up on single-payer healthcare. It’s just that he’s forward- thinking enough to recognize that once the people embrace "Obamacare," and begin to recognize the benefit that it can bring to their personal lives, they’re going to DEMAND a single-payer system. So what was most important to him was getting the people used to the fact that they have a RIGHT to government-protected and guaranteed health insurance - or, "a right to life," as it were.
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SHE DIED OF REPUBLICAN POLITICS

President Obama is an unabashed intellectual and student of history, so he uses his knowledge of history in making his decisions and forging his administrative strategies - and the foot-in-the-door strategy is as old as the hills. So that’s generally the strategy that he uses to get the job done, in spite of unprecedented obstructionism by the GOP.
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He knows the Republicans don't believe in reading and consider John Wayne-like ignorance as manly, so he uses it against them. That accounts for why he doesn’t get into spitball fights with them. Many on the left have also bought into the John Wayne syndrome, so they also see Obama’s quiet competence as a sign of weakness. But it’s far from that - it’s a sign of a powerful and unique intelligence.
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The reason I’ve studied Obama so closely is because all my life I’ve loved going up against people who thought they were heavy. I used to stay in trouble as a kid for challenging the beliefs of adults that I thought were silly. My mother was constantly telling me to stay in my place. So I’ve always enjoyed debating and examining ideas, much like many men - including Obama - enjoy going out on the court and gettin’ into a pickup game, which I’ve never had any interest in at all. But I would hate to have to go up against Barack Obama brain-cell-for-brain-cell, because that brother is a quiet, unassuming, genius - it would be like my trying to challenge Michael Jordan to a one-on-one. 
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What the impatient left needs to understand about Obama is, contrary to the claims of some of his critics, he’s a very strong and confident man. He only seems quiet and docile, because when you have strength and confidence, you feel the need to prove it by trying to be overly macho. Obama is an intellectual heavy weight, so he doesn’t believe in trying to out-scream his opponents; he believes in out-thinking ‘em.
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Neither does he believe in attacking the walls of a fort head on and going down in a blaze of glory; he believes in climbing in through the windows, because he’s not interested in trying to look heroic - that’s an ignorant and immature motivation. He simply wants to achieve his objectives. That’s how he got Osama Bin Laden. After Bush failed to get Bin laden, in spite of spending seven years, over a trillion dollars, and killing over a million people - including, killing or maiming thousands of American troops. Obama walked through the door and got Bin Laden with three helicopters and a handful of America's finest, without bustin’ a sweat bubble - and, while dragging Donald Trump through the mud at a dinner party in the process - and never once, breaking that quietly disarming smile. And thereafter, did he assemble the troops and news cameras to watch him land on an aircraft carrier and strut around in a flight suit  bragging about what he'd accomplished? No. He simply walked away like it was all in a day's work.  This is an extraordinary man.
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So there’s a big difference between the GOP and Obama. The GOP believes in the power of money, strength, and the military. Obama believes in the power of the mind - and he’s killing the entire Republican Party with his intellect alone. Think about it. The scene in Washington, D.C. for the past six years has been much like one adult trying to manage a house filled with ranting and raving children. The Republicans have become so frustrated over their inability to handle his intellect that they’ve lost all sense of tradition and decorum - and they've forgotten all about the interest of the American in their blind, fanatical, obsession with bringing down President Obama.
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And that hasn't been lost on the American people.  As a result, I’m sure that there were many patriotic conservatives in America who disagree with Obama's political philosophy, but voted for him in the last election in spite of that disagreement, because their primary concern was what was in the best interest of the country.  So the GOP’s biggest problems is not how they package their message, but making the mistake of equating being poor or middle class, with being stupid.

So yes, I’ve become an Obama cheerleader, and I never intend to apologize for that again, because Black people - and America as a whole - have a lot to be proud of in this president. He’s one of the last of a dying breed of true, old-school statesmen, who wear their flag pin on their hearts, rather than on their lapel. And as such, no one has ever represented us better. So as an American - and particularly, and African-American - I take great pride in that.
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Show ‘em how it’s done, Mr. President. Show 'em what it means to be president of all of the people . . . President of the United States of America.
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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
[email protected]

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.