By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
Friday, June 18, 2010, 6 p.m. – Like most conservatives, I knew this day would come: The day when even the most 
liberal of President Barack Obama’s supporters would reach the same conclusion I did two years ago – the man who awed audiences with his rhetoric is little more than a paper tiger.
Left-wingers believed his rhetoric; they believed what he said he stood for. They believed when he said he would end the Iraq war. They believed that he would be a president who would transcend race. They believed he would lead our country into a new era.
Following his long-overdue “take charge” Oval Office address this week on the Gulf oil spill, even his most feverish supporters couldn’t ignore his tepid and too-little, too-late move.
In Peggy Noonan’s Wall Street Journal column posted today, she notes that
” …. Dan Froomkin of the Huffington Post called the speech “profoundly underwhelming,” a “feeble call to action.” Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich called the speech “vapid.” Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times said the president looked “awkward and robotic.” MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann famously said “It was a great speech if you were on another planet for the last 57 days.” Chris Matthews scored “a lot of meritocracy, a lot of blue ribbon talk.” Mr. Olbermann, on Mr. Obama’s well-written peroration: “It’s nice but, again, how? Where was the ‘how’ in this speech when the nation is crying out for ‘how’?”
“How?” indeed. The answer to “why” remains elusive, too, and Obama’s speech lacked that detail. If the blowout had happened a week ago, I could understand the reason the “how” and “why” were lacking. Two months into the nation’s largest oil spill the president should provide the public with decisive leadership and answers, instead of empty rhetoric about making BP pay.
At this point in his presidency, any blame that Obama tries to throw at his predecessor only makes him look weaker. Blaming the Bush administration helps fill time during an Oval Office address, but it is of little comfort to the people of the Gulf whose livelihoods are vanishing.
The truth is that with any president, some things are out of his or her control. Obama can’t order the ruptured well to heal itself. But his handling of the crisis adds fodder to those who believe that both here and abroad the president’s leadership is both inept and ineffective.
Obama has notably traveled the world apologizing for America’s deeds and misdeeds. He seems uncomfortable being at the head of the world’s most powerful superpower; you almost feel like he thinks America is “no big deal.” He has continued the unprecedented move of bowing to other world leaders, most notably while visiting China. His speeches from abroad seem to always have a tone of being critical of his own country as a talking point. His speeches have demonstrated weakness and baffled foreign leaders.
You no longer need to visit conservative news sites to find opinions that are critical of our Commander-in-Chief. The Mainstream Media – as liberal as ever – has been forced to recognize that the president continues to make missteps and his leadership has stumbled. Under Obama, the United States no longer appears to be a reliable ally (just ask Britain and Israel), and seems more interested in making concessions to those who oppose us (Iran, North Korea and Cuba).
There’s a hug difference between running for president and serving in the office; I don’t fault Obama for breaking his campaign promises regarding the closure of Gitmo or ending the Iraq war. In fact, I suspect as president, he’s been forced to face geopolitical realities of the world in both situations.
As criticism of the president continues and as his job approval rating slides, more Democrats seem emboldened to talk of supporting a different candidate for president in 2012. Democrats who supported Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president may find new friends who believe that she really was the most qualified Democrat in the 2008 race. With Vice President Joe Biden’s rumored exit from the ticket, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Clinton added to the 2012 ticket as his replacement.
Like President Jimmy Cater — who was saddled with the Iranian hostage situation — Obama may find there is no “right” way to deal with the unfolding disaster in the Gulf. Republicans are waiting in the wings to make big gains in the next two years. Nature abhors a vacuum, and such is also the case in politics when strength and leadership are absent. The president has two years to determine by his actions if he will indeed be a one-term president.
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