Intimidated
St. Etienne, France, August 2, 2011
Salaroche

Maybe retired-General Stanley A. McChrystal was right in his assessment of Barack Obama's demeanor at the moment of Obama's first meeting with the top US military brass back there in early 2009, just a few days after taking his Presidential Oath.

"According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked 'uncomfortable and intimidated' by the roomful of military brass", said the Rolling Stone Magazine article whose revelations finally forced McChrystal to resign from his post as Commander of ISAF and Commander of the US Forces in Afghanistan.

Maybe McChrystal was right about Obama's overall stance as President of the United States and not only about his demeanor during the meeting in question. Maybe Barack Obama DOES feel intimidated by the largely white circle of people he has to deal with when addressing issues such as the recent debt-ceiling "deal".

As I have hinted in this Commentaries section before, it seems that our "Big Black Hope" is neither big, nor fully "black", nor does he have much "Hope" in fulfilling his campaign promises either. Maybe Americans of the Democratic persuasion should apply the "three-strikes you're out" rule to our commander in chief and throw him out of office in 2012. If only there were another viable Democratic contender.

But, why am I saying these things about Obama? Am I not aware of the heavy tilt to the political right that the US has experienced in the past few years? Am I not aware of how heavy the pressure must be from those elected conservative congress-people and Senators when it comes to passing measures and enacting legislations? Am I not aware that even within the Democratic ranks there are many Republicans in disguise willing to turn their backs on Obama?

Yes I am.

But I am also aware that whenever President Obama sits at the dealing table with all those Congressional and Senate representatives during crucial national moments like the one we just witnessed regarding the debt ceiling, he is the ONLY visible black person in the room. Does it make him feel intimidated to be the only black person at the table? There's a good chance that it does.

The debt-ceiling "deal" is not a deal in most ways. That deal is actually a "surrender" from the part of Obama to the financial-doomsday blackmail he was subjected to by Boehner and McConnell's outright brinkmanship. It just makes me wonder what Obama would have done during the Cuban missile crisis back in October of 1962, would he have allowed the Soviets to put missiles in Cuba in the name of "bipartisanship"? Maybe.

Hey Barack! Three strikes and you're out, sir. Your first strike came las December when you consented to a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts, your second strike came last April when you agreed to enact deep cuts on this year's budget, and now this.

What's the matter with you, sir, is there any testosterone of the good kind left in your body? I'm not asking you to be a macho man, sir, I'm just asking you to show that you know how to play the game of politics when dealing with irresponsible ideologues such as are most of your Republican rivals. If only there were another viable Democratic candidate for the 2012 Presidential elections.

Intimidated? You, sir, with all that mental acumen and all those intellectual resources that you have at your disposal and all that wonderful rhetoric that you are capable of mustering whenever you so wish... Intimidated? You?

Go figure.

Salaroche