Barack Obama -- one lucky son-of-a-gun

By Peter Lemiska

Most successful people admit that talent and hard work are rarely enough. Luck usually plays some role in every success story. Though Barack Obama's early years are shrouded in mystery, they were certainly not burdened with hardship. While his rhetoric today hearkens us back to the days of segregation and discrimination, Obama never experienced the life of a 1950s poor black man. Young Barry, as he was called then, grew up in a post civil-rights era. True, he wasn't born into wealth, but he lived in relative comfort, surrounded by doting family and friends.

By his 18th birthday, the draft, which some argue was biased against blacks, had already ended, and Obama had a bright future ahead of him. As a young man, he went to the best schools, smoked some grass, did some coke, and hung out with some, let's say, edgy characters. At some point, he decided, or was convinced, to enter politics. He authored a couple of books, eased his way into public life, and found himself a serious contender for the 2008 presidential election.

Democrats knew they had something. Our soon-to-be Vice-President, Joe Biden, encapsulated their enthusiasm, "...You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate, bright, and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean that's a story book, man."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also saw great potential in this particular candidate. Reid got a lot of attention after suggesting the country was ready to embrace a "light-skinned African-American with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

Since the left reserves charges of bigotry only for conservatives, they accepted those comments as just inarticulate. Besides, Democrats agreed with the gist, and they were right. Voters were so enthralled with the prospect of electing America's first black President, that they had no interest in his qualifications or his background.

For a while after his election, Obama enjoyed the love of a nation enamored. There were a few critics who questioned his suitability, and even his eligibility for the office. But otherwise, it was all good.

Then in 2010, something happened that raised some eyebrows. That's when Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak was offered a job by the White House in exchange for withdrawing from the mid-term elections. Election bribery is a serious matter, and there were rumblings of impeachment. After all, Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, was impeached for replacing a cabinet member without Senate approval, and more recently, Bill Clinton incurred the same fate by providing perjured testimony about a private affair. Both evaded conviction, but Americans saw that even U.S. Presidents were not above the law.

Obama survived the Sestak affair unscathed, and surely felt emboldened. What else could he get away with? He began to act recklessly. In February 2011, he declared unconstitutional a federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act, and ordered his Justice Department to stop defending it. Facing no consequences, and winning re-election, he began to act even more audaciously, illegally making recess appointments, bestowing blanket amnesty, freeing dangerous prisoners, ignoring some laws, and rewriting others.

In July 2014, Obama had perhaps his best stroke of luck ever when House Speaker John Boehner took impeachment off the table. With that threat gone, he must have truly felt untouchable.

Now he has undertaken perhaps his most consequential violation of our Constitution by unilaterally negotiating a secret nuclear arms deal with Iran, America's sworn enemy.

Obama's continued good fortune spells disaster for everyone else. His divisive rhetoric and politics have balkanized our once-United States. He has splintered us along racial, ethnic, and socio-economic lines. He has cultivated suspicion and animosity between our citizenry and police departments across the country. His lawless edicts have weakened America by welcoming wave-after-wave of unscreened foreigners into the country – many of them bringing crime, disease, or potential terrorism – all of them burdening our welfare programs. We see corruption spreading through virtually every branch of the federal government with Obama's acquiescence, while his smirking minions try to convince us that we're delusional. Except for those dubious Iranian negotiations, he has abandoned all responsibility for world affairs, leading to utter chaos in the Mid-East.

No American President has ever caused that kind of bedlam. Presidents Clinton and Johnson just didn't have Obama's luck.

Throughout everything, Congressional Democrats have tenaciously protected Obama. Even when a reflective Harry Reid chastened, "We've got to be more concerned about the country...than us," they probably thought he was talking to Republicans.

Obama likes to gloat about his election victories, but he should give more credit to his good fortune. As those Democratic leaders candidly admitted, he came along at exactly the right time. Born in an earlier time, racial bias would have made his success impossible. Likewise, he would probably fail in a future, truly color-blind America. There, people will be measured by their worth. Bright, honest, hard-working Americans will be rewarded for their efforts, and self-serving, corrupt officials will be held accountable for their actions – regardless of race.

Barack Obama has it made in the shade. When he's not busy issuing Executive Orders, he plays a little golf, does a few talk shows, and hangs out with some edgy characters. Unless he nullifies the 22nd Amendment, he'll soon take his winnings and leave. But before then, how much more damage will he do – and just how far will Congress allow him to push his luck?

© Peter Lemiska