Confession: Yes, I want President Obama to fail, too (Repost)

There, I said it. Finally! It’s off my chest. Now the world (or at least my little part of it) can know the truth about me: I do not want the President to be successful. This is not meant to suggest that I don’t want America to be successful because nothing could be further from the truth. I deeply love my country and it is because of that great admiration that I yearn for this President to be stunningly ineffective in his attempt to “change” it.


This forthright and abrupt declaration has been bubbling below the surface of my consciousness since the election, yet I kept it quietly to myself. After the election and before he took office, I heard so many herald - much to my chagrin – that now he was our president and we must “get behind him for the good of our country.” Really?

First, allow me a short digression. This statement that so many have decreed is utterly annoying on two fronts. First, he won and  my side lost, and, well, that just burns me. It was just two Presidential elections ago that the man we now call Commander-in-Chief was denied entry to the Democratic National Convention. It seems in 2000 he was not even on the national political radar. Today he is the leader of the free world. It seems paying dues isn’t as patriotic as paying taxes. Okay, I’ll be the first to admit it. That just chaps my hide.

The second and perhaps a more appropriate reason why that “get behind him” statement provokes me into fits of rage and tantrum indicative of my German heritage is Barack Obama was the President-elect – not the president. He became the president at noon on Inauguration Day – or was the following day when he re-stated the Oath in the Map Room? I’ll suppose I don’t really know. You’ll have to ask White House council. That answer is above my pay grade.

Now back to my point. When I hear people say I should get behind Obama, I shudder and cringe and not for those “annoying” reasons I just stated. What is so stunning to me is that some of these people who boldly suggest we affirm Obama worked and prayed desperately along side me for other candidates to win because they thought him wrong for America. Now, these same people are telling me to suck it up and toe the line behind this former community organizer and his congressional cronies. Are you kidding me?! Obama’s policies haven’t changed; only his title has. Why would I get behind someone who wants to bring socialized medicine to America? That is still wrong. And what about his view on abortion? Gay marriage? Taxes? The environment? Foreign Relations? His policies are all wrong for our country and yet I am supposed to ignore all that and just give the appearance of bipartisanship. No dice, compatriots. It just ain’t gonna happen.

We live in very divisive times. Many in the media are guzzling Obama’s brand of Kool-Aid and they not asking the tough questions. So, we have to. Us. The citizenry. We are a Republic – a government of the People and for the People. They work for us. The cabinet, the Administration, the Congress, and, yes, the President. I will not sit quietly by while the President makes bad decision after bad decision that leads us into global socialization and complete dependence on the government. Part of patriotism to me is to stand my ground and question my leaders, and the responsibility of checks and balances falls on all our shoulders. We can not be politically apathetic just because we lost the White House. Nor can we create turmoil where it doesn’t belong. This is not a call to anarchy; checks and balances is all I’m advocating. With great privilege comes great responsibility. We have the privilege to examine our leaders; to demand they hold their leading of our nation accountable to us. The question I have is do we possess the courage. Do we have the fortitude and the resilience within our own convictions to stand firm in our patriotic duty? Will we sacrifice what we know is morally right for a semblance of unity? Or will we actually stay the course and hold out for the real deal? I am talking about authentic unity. I am talking about not a façade of togetherness, but genuine cohesiveness; the likes of which we have never before seen.

Like Regan, I believe in that shining city on a hill; though her light has dimmed in recent years. The glow of optimism and positive expectation have faded, but we are the keepers of the light; the salt of the earth. As Christians, we are called to serve a higher billing. Though "hope" has been hijacked, we know whom its rightful owner is. And our mission, our cause, our duty is to audaciously hold firm to our resolve and see that city reignited by the unity of her citizens. “We shall overcome” is no longer just the epitaph for a Civil Rights movement dedicated only to independence from majority tyranny, but it is now also the battle cry to those who hold these truths self-evident that all men are created – by the Creator. Should we prevail in our steadfastness, we will one day be able to proclaim this great experiment called America an irrefutable success because no one – no foreign sovereign, no fundamental terrorist, no political party – will ever again be allowed to trespass on our commitment to be The United States of America - one nation under God.


A short disclaimer: This took me several days to write and I share it with all of you mostly just to begin a discussion. This is how I feel; it is my opinion. Perhaps you have another. While I feel very strongly about what I stated in this post, I also feel strongly that we need to pray for our president and our government. This is a not about compromising our ideals. It is about holding onto what makes you who you are. If you give too much of that away in the spirit of bipartisianship then somewhere along the line you stop being you. Again, this is meant to spur a discussion. Thanks for taking the time to read it!

dated February 8, 2009 - Brandi Borgstadt