The 2016 Republican presidential candidates and many other Republican elected officials and leaders are constantly bashing President Obama. Russia is among their favorite topics to complain about and right now it seems to be the flavor of the month.
Of course, that could change at any given moment. After all, their political bashing of the President is a political game of opportunity. And because Putin has been very active lately they are content to focus on Russia. They say that because President Obama is such a weak President, Russia has lost all respect for America and become emboldened.
They say that Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea and is boldly expanding Russia’s presence in Syria and grabbing power there because of President Obama’s weakness as a leader. I beg to differ; all of these politicians that are constantly complaining about President Obama being weak and blaming him for what Putin is doing are doing so strictly for political reasons.
They are well aware that the situation surrounding Vladimir Putin’s decision to ignore American warnings and take the recent bold steps that he has to grab power are much more complex than what they label as the results of America’s weak President. They know full well that it is not America alone that is entangled in Russian President Putin’s strategic web and grappling with how to address this problem with the necessary political adroitness; they know that there are European countries which are also involved and that they are struggling with this issue as well. Mr. Putin also knows this and he knows that everything is all about the money.
Politics seems to always be all about the money and that is why I – and likely many, many other Americans – find politics so hard to swallow most times. We know that politics is what makes our democratic system run but we loathe the fact that far too many of our politicians choose to play politics rather than to make a sincere effort to fix the system so that it will run properly, fairly and – possibly, more smoothly.
To all of the politicians who are finger pointing, calling President Obama a weak leader and blaming him for what Russian President Vladimir Putin is doing and everything else that is not right in the world, I say shame on you! Unfortunately, this is what we Americans have grown accustomed to and accept as ‘just the way that it is’ because this is how our political system works and we cannot do a thing about it. Shame on us!
We should not allow these politicians, politicians that we elected to office and can remove from office, to fool us and dictate to us that we must live with a political system that serves them and their interest rather than the interest of all of the American people. How is it that we have become so gullible and weak?! If anyone is weak it is not President Obama; it is us, the American voters!
If you have been following the Republican presidential debates then you know which candidate is leading in the polls. In the event that you are not aware of who is leading, it is Mr. Donald Trump (a.k.a., The Donald). The Donald is a highly successful businessman with no political experience. He has made comments that would have long ago brought about the demise of any conventional candidate; yet, he continues to remain at the top of the polls. Even if you eschew politics and know very little about it, you likely know that this is a real anomaly.
Those who support Mr. Trump are avid in that support and it seems that he can do nothing wrong in their eyes. Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to a female Trump supporter on the ‘All In With Chris Hayes’ show as she explained why she so strongly supported Mr. Trump. She was very articulate and did not appear to be at all nervous.
She was never at a loss for words when she defended the negative statements that Mr. Trump has made and she was not intimidated by Chris Hayes when he tried to make her see why many Americans are oftentimes offended by Mr. Trump’s remarks. Instead, she fired back at him with statements supporting Mr. Trump’s rationale. She also strongly defended him on how he handled the latest situation with a man in the audience who made some very unflattering remarks about Muslims.
Before Chris Hayes closed his interview with her she said that Americans are sick and tired of politicians who do not listen to the American people. She said that America needs a businessman in office who knows how to make and close deals that will be favorable to Americans and that Mr. Trump could do that. And finally, she said no matter what he does or says the establishment and the media would be against him.
This woman voiced the frustration that many Americans are feeling. It is due in large part because of these feelings that Donald Trump is leading in the polls. Right now there are few if any indicators that signal a possible decrease in his momentum. If traditional Republican presidential candidates continue to underestimate Mr. Trump it is possible that he could end up as the Republican nominee.
No matter who the ultimate nominee is for each Party, I ask that all voters exercise their right to vote. Whether we are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent we have the power to force our politicians to fix the problems in our political system. That power lies in our vote and we should always make our vote count. So always remember, your vote is the most important one of all… unless you don’t use it!
Eulus Dennis