Why are People Like Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann so Critical of Policies of President Obama?: Are They Afraid of Him?

Why are people like Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann so Critical of policies of President Obama?: Are They afraid of him? Sarah Palin says she fears for the democracy because of President Obama’s agenda, and has further accused President Obama of being a sympathizer of terrorist. Michelle Bachman accused the president of being even worse than President Jimmy Carter (Cesca, 2011). I want to consider the expectations of the president and consider if the accusations are reasonable.

The constitutional expectations of the president include an oath according to the Article II that President Obama swore to on the day he was sworn into office, while swearing to his commitment to execute the office of president. The oath affirms that the president will protect and defend the constitution of the United States. While recalling the day of the inauguration of President Obama, the swearing in seemed botched, and on the next day, Chief Justice Roberts asked of the president to take the oath again without mistakes as they did while speaking carefully, making efforts to speak the oath perfectly. A historical note is that not all presidents have recited the actual oath but instead say “I do” after someone else has recited the oath as questions. The expectations of the people supplement the constitutional text as the practices of the constitution are not always consistent with the constitutional text. An example is when Senator Hillary Clinton took office as secretary of state, and Kirsten Gillibrand who was representing New York’s 20th district in the House of Representatives replaced Mrs. Clinton in the Senate. The problem is that Murphy won an election in 2009 to replace Gillibrand. However, when can Murphy run for re-election- since the Article 1 section 2 says that members of the House of Representatives will be chosen every two years. Murphy ran and won in 2010 or two consecutive years as opposed to every two years, and this is a standard practice while meeting expectations of Americans though not in the constitutional text (Primus, 2010).

Needless to say, the 21st century is proving to be a time of globalization requiring much change in our thinking. Has the president kept his word? How can accusations of Sarah Palin possibly reflect the actions of a president who has sworn to defend the constitution of the United States? Former presidents and leaders have made changes that were necessary as the Supreme Court had to decide on Brown v. the Board of education, hall of famer, Wesley Branch Rickey a baseball executive for the major leagues decided to integrate Major league baseball while signing Jackie Robinson and Black Hispanic Roberto Clemente to Major league. President Harry Truman decided to integrate the American armed forces. The point is that constitutional developments occur and though people may not have immediately embraced the changes, the validity of the changes are not always immediately apparent. Though President Obama has exercised his transformational gifts, we must open our eyes and learn from our history while not judging the worth of the decisions of our leaders based on the color of their skin. President Obama is our first acknowledged Black president and we must continue to daily consider him in prayer to God.

References
Primus, R. (2010). Constitutional expectations. Michigan Law Review, 109(1), 91-110.

African American Leaders Speak Out

I have been wondering when Reverend Jesse Jackson would speak out concerning the accusations against our President Barach Obama. Donald Trump has climbed to the top of the republican vote with lies about President Obama's birthplace. He says President Obama is not an American. I say, Ludicrous! Why won't Donald Trump talk about real issues like education or the budget; issues that affect people.

Republicans and Democrats: Don’t Forget Our Past Failures, but Learn from America’s Past!

In 2007 five of the largest banks became insolvent resulting in takeovers. Wall Street’s five largest banks vanished, Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association) both government sponsored lenders declined approximately 99 percent since 2007. Unemployment has risen, as credit interest rates are at peak levels. What appears to be the catalyst for the economic crisis was the housing market and the falling prices of homes and mortgages having minimal equity. Thus, a recession began in December of 2007. As mortgages were left uncollateralized, the values of securities backed by mortgages were inflated leaving financial institutions unable to lend while losing capital. The vicious cycle began with foreclosures and diminished credit (Reinganum, 2009).

My perspective is that Obama has sought to do what a good leader should do so as to soften the pain of a failing economy. Because the current crisis does not reflect the capitalistic economy system or the free-market, many believe that the economic suffering will last for a short term. Innovative policy and creativity must be developed and directed to avoid the same failures in the future. We can look with hope to see a healthy America in years to come.

The problem is that the economic crisis and campaigning for official positions has taken the focus off of the most important of our society. Our children must be remembered in the midst of the crisis. Educational policies must be developed that provide social justice while eliminating threats of privatization of schools . Policies that will eliminate the teacher having to spend a school year teaching to a test and that will eliminate the disproportionate numbers of children of color who are placed in special education classes while reinforcing the perpetual racism in society at large.

Cry, Oh America, for the children who will grow in a nation of inequalities that are ignored from one generation to the next because of hidden agendas, yet ingrained in the very fabric of the American culture. I believe that parents and community leaders must visit and volunteer to see how they can contribute to the work of educating students. As I advocate for the urban student, one must not forget them because they deserve part of the American dream as well. The task is difficult as I praise principals and teachers who endure and serve thousands of urban students each day, realizing that the job is not always respected or appreciated.

Education is power and though President Obama has made progress through Race to the Top policies, as schools will be rewarded for student achievement even if achievement does not result in annual yearly progress (AYP). A cultural change has begun to occur where the shame of schools are being lessened through rewards. The Race ToThe Top policy includes the starting of charter schools, however, charter schools are known to fare worse than public schools. The emphasis is not on privatization but provides more choice through the public sector while not vilifying the public sector as with the Bush administration (Apple, 2011).

I submit that republicans and democrats must maintain the integrity of the election process; no longer fighting over issues that destroy our leaders and the hope of our children and the American people. America desires to have ethical leaders with integrity who will fight against injustices but who uphold what is good and right. As our economy has suffered failure, lets learn from our past failures and heal our nation again. President Obama, has done what a good leader does, as he seeks to lessen the pain of those whom he leads. Thank you President Obama for your leadership!

Reference

Apple, M. W. (2011). Grading Obama’s education policy. Progressive. 75(2), 24-27.

Reinganum, M. R.(2009). Setting national priorities: Financial challenges facing the Obama administration. Financial Analysts Journal. 65(2), 1-4.