The Man in the Hot Seat

San Diego, CA – The office of the president is highly respected, and the man who holds it is watched, loved, and hated, -by everybody who has a clue. George Washington got every single popular vote when he ran for president. But when he held office, he was still hated by some, -perhaps more so than you might think.

When Jimmy Carter was president, some people called him the worst ever. When Clinton was president, and for a few years after, books were written calling him the worst disaster ever to happen to America. Then people said that about Bush. Hey, they even said that about Adams, Jackson, Jefferson, and even a few pro-Northerners thought that about Lincoln. And now they are saying it about Obama.

People count how many times he plays golf. His tax returns are scrutinized. Pictures of his every move are broadcasted around the world. And what he says is debated from the television studios to the coffee shops. Everyone knows his every imperfection. So it is no surprise that usually, not long after the president takes office, sometimes it seems almost the first time he actually does something, at least some people start screaming.

Being the man in the hot seat can be difficult. Some people don’t react well to stress. I know of people who have quit working at Wendy’s because of the stress, saying they had to make too may decisions while flipping burgers. (You read that right.) It can be understandable if the president’s hair goes gray, as our current one's has, or if he needs a vacation, as our current president just enjoyed an interrupted two weeks of.

But now, even the New York Times is carrying stories about how the president is having difficulty wanting to negotiate, and that he is lacking drive as he enters the backstretch of these eight years in office. According to politicalnews.me Indiana Senator Dan Coats said last year that the president was willing to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, but not Republicans, -which is an interesting thing.

Recently Kurtz Media Buzz carried the story of the president bumping into an argument before the Republican and Democratic Leaders of the Senate. The president, rather than sit down and negotiate and try to work out a deal between the feuding couple, told them to work it out themselves. Two of the world’s most powerful leaders, and he walked away, lacking the will to get into it.

The president is coming back just now from his vacation, and he must now retake the hot seat. He has issues in Ukraine to deal with. Russia is misbehaving, and there is unrest near St. Louis. His party is expected to lose the midterm elections, and his own ratings are not doing very well. Much of this has stemmed from his own policies.

Now the title of worst president in history cannot be given in out for a long while yet. Not until the White House is in ruins and a tourist attraction like the Roman Coliseum, and “Ancient America” is something you go to the theatres to see, hopefully by then in 5D by then.

But Barak Obama has issues. Many issues. With all of his problems, one is reminded of the words of Ronald Reagan: “He’s no Thomas Jefferson.”

Andrew C. Abbott