After an initial grace period in which most Americans were willing to give a new president the benefit of the doubt, what this nation has steadily watched is a man and an administration almost exclusively governing against the will of the people. While the crux of his predecessor’s low approval ratings were in fighting an ‘unpopular war’, President Obama is watching his own approval rating plunge due to an unpopular, well, everything else. His record has been so blatantly in contrast to the will of this nation, that it could very nearly be defined as anti-American.
The latest example of this can be seen in the president’s decision to voice his support for the construction of the Ground Zero mosque. While CNN called his message regarding the mosque ‘incoherent’, Americans understood his initial comments quite clearly – and they’re not taking kindly to hearing their president express support for a project that they overwhelmingly oppose. Nearly 70 percent of Americans object to the mosque being built on hallowed ground. (Yes, the site was actively involved on 9/11 when the landing gear assembly of one of the planes used in the attack crashed through the roof of what was then a Burlington Coat Factory).
Why is there such opposition? Because the people aren’t buying into the administration’s talking points on this matter. What they understand, and what the administration fails to understand, is that this building has nothing to do with religious freedom. Muslims are not being prohibited from practicing their religion. They are simply being asked to display a sense of decency by building the mosque in an area not directly involved in such an emotional event for our nation; away from the site where thousands of lives ended in a declaration of war from radical Islam.
America understands common sense and decency. It appears our president does not.
The Ground Zero mosque certainly hasn’t been the only example of the Obama administration fighting hard to ignore the voice of the people. It is almost as if White House briefings indicate the mood of the country, and the president subsequently instructs his staff to move in the opposite direction.
Observe…
- The most obvious example of this has been the force-feeding of the health care reform bill down the collective throats of a nation. With the vote looming in mid-March, the measure was opposed by likely voters by a wide margin, 54-41 percent. Worse, the respondents who felt the most strongly about the bill were overwhelmingly in opposition. 45 percent strongly opposed, compared to 26 percent who strongly favored the plan.
- The U.S. Justice Department’s decision to fight the Arizona immigration law through the courts; a law that 59 percent of U.S. voters would like to see in their very own state. Similar findings demonstrate that prior to last month’s ruling, 56 percent opposed the decision to challenge the legality of the law in the first place.
- It is the first victory touted by the Obama administration, it is the topic of his current ‘summer of recovery’ tour, and it was (and remains) a big mistake according to most Americans. Just two weeks prior to signing his $787 billion stimulus bill into law, two separate polls showed citizens beginning to question the wasteful government spending plan. It was opposed 43-37 percent, but that didn’t stop the president and his cohorts from pursuing their economic agenda at the people’s expense. Fortunately for the unemployed, as Obama promised, the unemployment ratestayed below 8 percent and, er … well, never mind.
- In response to the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, Obama issued a ban on deepwater oil drilling, a policy that nearly three quarters of Americans opposed. Because the opposition to this was so massive, the administration apparently viewed it as a policy more-so in need of passage, issuing two moratoriums on deepwater drilling — a move that fellow Democrat Mary Landrieu claimed could “cost more jobs than the spill itself.” Perhaps the ‘summer of recovery’ doesn’t apply to the gulf coast.
- Another result of the oil disaster has been the administration’s expressed desire to move forward on the so-called cap-and-trade legislation. The legislation, an attempt to limit the total carbon dioxide emissions allowed to be released into the environment, while also imposing a massive tax burden on the economy, is opposed by 70 percent of Americans.
- Let’s not for a moment pretend that officials in the administration are not laying the groundwork for non-legislative blanket amnesty. You need only ask President Bush how Americans feel about the prospect of amnesty. On a side note, if there is any question as to their motives, heed the words of a former member of Obama’s National Latino Advisory Council, Eliseo Medina, who outlined what amnesty could do for the Democrats at the polls:
“We reform the immigration laws; it puts 12 million people on the path to citizenship and eventually voters. If we have eight million new voters who care about, and will be voting, we will be creating a governing coalition for the long term.”
Despite what the media would have you believe, it was clear that a majority of the people supported the President in his initial efforts post-election. However, the descent into failure as an American leader has been steep and steady. And it isn’t just recent actions that are contributing to the drop in approval ratings. Lost in the more current list of unpopular moves are some of the early attempts at implementing policies which were equally unpopular. They include…
- An early term executive order that gave federal funding to family planning organizations that provide abortions, opposed by 58 percent of Americans.
- A subsequently embarrassing mark on the president’s record involving an executive order to close the prison in Guantanamo Bay. The goal was to shut down the prison within one year, and was opposed by a 50-44 percent margin. It remains open, but not due to a lack of effort on the President’s part.
- On that same note, the DOJ’s decision to investigate the treatment and possible torture of terrorists during the Bush administration was considered wrong by a 49-36 percent tally.
- The announcement that terrorists, including September 11th mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, would be tried in New York City, was roundly rejected by the American public 51-29 percent. Up until recent developments, this move may have been the hallmark of the anti-American presidency, granting rights afforded our citizens to a terrorist with single-minded designs on destroying those same citizens, speaks volumes.
Whether it was inexperienced decision making early on, or recent ignorance of what the constituency supports, isn’t it about time that the president of the United States started implementing pro-American policies? Isn’t it about time that he listen to the people that elected him?
Then again, that would require abandoning his liberal agenda and start accepting what America is – a predominantly conservative nation.
Rusty Weiss is a political writer for NewsBusters.com. He can be reached through his website at: www.mentalrecession.com.
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