Dakota Beacon

He is gone and none too soon. Former White House occupant Barack Obama flew off into the western sky Friday afternoon leaving behind the carnage of a leftist ideologue. As expected, Red Star babies threw a hissy fit as only the spoiled self-centered sycophants they are.

Obama may be an “ex” but he isn’t leaving town. He will linger down the street from the White House in Washington, DC in hopes of resurrecting a leaderless and decimated Democrat Party. If the Democrats are to compete in the midterm elections they will need leadership. As Obama lingers in Washington, he will receive a tutorial in true leadership by Donald J. Trump.

The leadership tutorial began with Trump convincing companies like Carrier and Ford to manufacture their products in the US instead of Mexico. Trump’s initiative continued with Chinese billionaires committing to invest in job creation in the US. IBM agreed to hire 25,000 in the US. With 95 million people unemployed, the US can use all the jobs it can get. Trump accomplished his initiatives even before he took office. This leadership coup is worthy of Obama’s attention. Obama could have accomplished the same himself if he cared. But he did not.

The difference between Trump and Obama are their leadership styles reflected in their approach to change. Obama chose not to work with congress. Instead, his style was to force change on a reluctant public with his pen and phone as in cross-genderism in the military and men in girls’ bathrooms. Trump’s style is to effect change legitimately and legislatively by negotiating with congress on the issues of better schools, cheaper energy and affordable health care.

Then there is the matter of the Obama administration’s scandals – or downright inept policies. (Valarie Jarrett, Obama’s close advisor, knew of no scandals.) Real leaders admit when they are wrong, bear the consequences and attempt to straighten out the mess. Not Obama. Fast and Furious, the gun running scheme blew up in Obama’s face. Obama’s feds intentionally let guns slip into the hands of Mexican gangs which were later used to kill a US federal agent.

Then there was the heavy ordinance Obama’s feds secretly passed into the hands of terrorists who were disguised as rebels. Those weapons were used to kill our ambassador to Libya and bring down a cooperative government.

There was also the confiscation of telephone records of journalists who criticized the Obama administration. The parents of James Rosen of Fox News come to mind.

The scandals go on. There was the targeting by the IRS of conservative groups opposed to the Obama administration. These groups were denied tax exempt status because of their political beliefs.

Edward Snowden, criminal that he is, revealed that the feds were monitoring every keystroke of Americans across the US. While this monitoring was going on the Obama administration nevertheless could not keep Americans safe.

This is not the legacy of a leader. It is the record of a detached, possibly inept, figurehead who did not have Americans’ best interests at heart.

To his dubious credit, Obama did lead the way in pioneering new areas of presidential lawlessness. For example, his first move was to shred the rights of Chrysler bondholders in the federal government takeover of that company.

It is no wonder Donald J. Trump was able to tap into the raw nerves of a public seeking leadership. Trump perceived a rudderless Ship of State and offered a lifeline. Given his history of success in the real world of business and negotiation it is not unreasonable to expect a superior degree of leadership far and away above what America experienced from the White House in the last eight years.

Who better than Donald J. Trump to school Barack H. Obama in leadership? It is good the Obama era is over. But it is also good Obama will stick around Washington for his tutorial in leadership. He probably will learn nothing. It is not his style.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).