On Monday, perennial Obama cheerleader Howard Fineman of The Huffington Post released a comprehensive breakdown of his disappointments with his shining star. The same columnist who once glossed over Obama’s troubles in implementing Obamacare by comparing him to both Superman and Sisyphus now calls him ineffective, confused, and bumbling.
With regard to his Middle East policy, Fineman writes, “The region that initially made him look wise now makes him look, at best, confused.” Fineman rips his rhetoric: “he makes sweeping declarations that damage his credibility.” He slams his economic policy: “the rich have gotten richer while the middle class stagnates.” Fineman blasts Obama’s competence, even while stating in quasi-delusional fashion, “his tenure has been relatively free of venal corruption. But every management is another matter.”
But, never fear – Obama’s failures aren’t really his fault, Fineman says. The internet ruined Obama, Fineman explains: “The internet has gone on to other brands and other trends.” The Republicans ruined Obama, Fineman writes: “Our founders divided the power, and it remains divided.” America’s racism ruined Obama, Fineman states: “A quality that made him inspiring to so many – the first African-American in the White House – makes him a dangerous figure to some.”
Finally, Fineman concludes, Obama hasn’t succeeded because he’s just too fabulous. Obama is “fiercely proud and self-assured in public,” but also “cautious and wary.” He “favors complexity over simplicity.” He’s a charmer who “likes to put others at ease and does not seek confrontation,” and whose “thoughtful, soothing, hopeful nature got him elected” but made him ill-suited for “unpleasant political realities in general.”
Obama never should have been expected to meet expectations anyway: “The expectations for President Obama upon entering office “were impossible to meet. He hasn’t meet them. No one could.”
Actually, America’s expectations were perfectly reasonable: govern, help heal racial wounds, and strengthen America on the global stage. After all, that’s what Obama promised. But for Fineman, a promise made need not be a promise kept, even if he’s disappointed in Obama for not keeping those promises.
Ben Shapiro is Senior Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the new book, The People vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against The Obama Administration (Threshold Editions, June 10, 2014). He is also Editor-in-Chief of TruthRevolt.org. Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter @benshapiro.
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