Deep in the throes of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt gave an inspiring speech to scared and lost nation. In his speech, he uttered a line that rang true for all Americans. He said, "The only thing we need to fear, is fear itself." Those words helped calm a nation, although his deficit spending only managed to extend the misery for the nation.
When the country faced another economic downturn in the early 1060s, John F. Kennedy gave a rallying speech in which he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what can you do for your country." These words helped a nation understand that better times would lie ahead.
Ronald Reagan, always the positive, charismatic leader, inherited the second worst economy in the 20th century when he entered the White House. When he looked into the cameras and told a worried nation about his vision of America as " ... a shining city upon a hill," he instilled confidence and trust in a nation trying to get through 17% inflation and 20% interest rates.
And then there is Obama.
Yesterday, our inexperienced president went on television to try and justify his stimulus bill by instilling fear in a nation. Wanting to ramrod this useless and utterly dangerous stimulus bill through Congress, he frowned and talked about how the country would see an utter "catastrophe" if the bill wasn't signed that day. Of course, he has less than 30% approval rating for his package, thanks to Republicans holding up the bill and letting the nation know about all the pork spending in it that has absolutely nothing to do with creating real jobs. This bill as written is 90% social spending, and only 10% aimed at economic stimulus.
Unfortunately, Mr Obama is lacking interpersonal communications skills, although he is a talented gasbag. The very idea of scaring the American people is not only detrimental to the moral of the nation, but also shows a complete lack of integrity. Obama is in no way like FDR, or any other great president this country has been lucky enough to elect to the highest office.
