The way that people carried on in 2008, you would have thought we had elected a messiah and not merely a president. Some people who felt that way can be excused because that’s the way Obama was sold to us. After all, he vowed to lower the oceans, heal the planet and unite all Americans, whatever their class, race, gender or nation of origin.
That’s pretty big talk for someone whose singular accomplishment as a member of the Illinois Legislature was to vote in favor of partial-birth abortions, and whose most noteworthy achievement during his two years in Washington was to be named the most liberal member of the Senate, beating out the unholy likes of Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid.
OK, call me a skeptic. However, whenever anyone on TV makes huge, unrealistic promises, my immediate reaction is to withdraw into my shell of cynicism. And I’m merely referring to the sort of slicksters who claim that if I invest $5,000 in gold, I’ll be able to buy and sell Warren Buffet by the end of the month. When a mere politician guarantees that he’s going to lower the oceans my response is to demand he tell me exactly how and why he’s going to get rid of all that water.
I now believe that there was divine intervention in the 2008 election, not by the candidate from the political sewers of Chicago, but by God, Himself. Somehow, He sensed that too many Americans had forgotten that elections have consequences. The president doesn’t just get to decide if the Thanksgiving Turkey lives or dies, but whether the American economy lives or dies and, even more to the point, whether American citizens live or die.
By allowing Barack Hussein Obama to be elected president and commander in chief, God was reminding us poor deluded mortals that when we choose someone because he looks and sounds like someone born to be the D.J. at a hip-hop club, we’re just asking for trouble.
Now, as if all the things Obama’s done and hasn’t done during his time in the White House aren’t bad enough, he announces that the one thing he has learned is that you – or, rather, he – can’t change Washington from the inside. Having said that, I think it’s only fair that we give him every chance to try changing it from the outside. From way outside, be it Chicago, or back in Hawaii, where word has it the Obamas are planning to erect a multi-million dollar home for their retirement. If the rumor is true, those would be the very first shovel-ready jobs for which he could actually claim credit.
Even though the title of my newest book is “Barack Obama, You’re Fired! (And Don’t Bother Asking for a Letter of Recommendation),” he is merely the worst of the left-wing offenders ruining our lives in Washington. As I make clear in Chapter 2, “Naming Names (Obama’s Cronies, Stooges, Enablers and Fall Guys),” the nation’s capital is fairly bursting at the seams with scoundrels who should be serving sentences, not terms.
A while ago, I wrote to one of them, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, complaining about the foot-dragging I perceived taking place when it came to tracking down those who had leaked a slew of national security documents to the New York Times.
After several weeks, I forgot that I had even written to her. Then, one afternoon, I turned on my computer, and there was an email from her. To be fair, I will reprint it in its entirety.
“Dear Mr. Prelutsky: Thank you for your letter about my remarks on the recent leaks of sensitive national security information. I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
“Let me be clear. I do not believe that President Obama has leaked classified information, and I do not know the source of the leaks. On July 23, 2012, I was asked whether the White House might be responsible for recent national security leaks. I stated that I did not believe the president leaked classified information. I should not have speculated beyond that.
“I’m on record as being disturbed by these leaks and I know for a fact the president is extremely troubled by these leaks.
“In fact, President Obama’s Administration has moved aggressively to investigate the leaks. Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald C. Machen Jr. and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein to head criminal investigations into the leaks. The investigations are under way, and it is moving forward quickly. I hope and expect that they will follow the facts wherever they lead.
“Again, thank you for your letter. Please know that I appreciate your taking the time to write. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Sincerely yours, Dianne Feinstein, United States Senator.”
I wrote back: “Thank you for your response, Senator Feinstein. Frankly, it’s been so long since I wrote, I forgot that I had even brought the matter to your attention. That being said, the investigation is not going ahead quickly. There were only a few people in the room who could have possibly leaked the classified information. You hook those folks up to a lie detector machine and you go from there. Once you find the guilty party, you try him for treason.
“As for your contention that the person in question wasn’t Obama, I don’t believe anyone in that room would have risked providing the N.Y. Times with national security data without Obama’s approval. Insisting that he didn’t do it is just plain silly and is, moreover, an insult to my intelligence; the Mafia don doesn’t do his own killing, and the president doesn’t pick up the phone and call a Times reporter. In each case, they have it done.
“Clearly, this is a case of Party coming before Principle, Party coming before Country.
“Again, thanks for finally getting back to me. I know how busy you must be, not getting to the bottom of this scandal. Sincerely, Burt Prelutsky”