The Amateur, by Edward Klein

If I let myself think about it (which I try not to do) I get really angry that an ignorant 53% of Americans actually voted for this guy, Barack Barry Hussein Soetoro Obama or whatever his name is.  This guy had little legislative experience, no executive experience, scarcely any management experience, and 53% of my fellow countrymen want to put him in the White House?  I couldn't believe it.  Still can't.  Sure, the election of the first African-American president is a milestone, I get it.  Good for the U.S., racism is dead and buried. (Ha!)  Every time he comes on TV I regret that I turned on the TV in the first place.  Please, someone shut him up!

This is what Obama thinks of himself.

All of the vague negative feelings I have about President Obama, and all of the suspicions I have had that he is not fit for the office of the president, were confirmed in my reading of Edward Klein's, The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House.  Drawing largely from interviews with Obama associates, coworkers, friends, and others who have know him well, Klein paints a picture of "a president who is inept in the arts of management and governance, who doesn't learn from his mistakes, and who therefore repeats policies that make our economy less robust and our nation less safe."

One striking (but not surprising) feature Klein discusses is Obama's vanity.  His delusions of grandeur and megalomania led him to believe "he was qualified for the most difficult job in the world . . . even though he had never held a real job in his life."  As one Chicago acquaintance notes, "You can explain it with any number of words: arrogance, conceit, egotism, vanity, hubris. . . . But whatever word you choose, it spells the same thing--disaster for the country he leads."  As Klein documents, this attitude is manifested in the fact that wherever he is, whoever he's meeting with, Obama thinks he's the smartest person in the room, and his willingness to listen to other voices is limited by his arrogant self-centeredness.

There's plenty new here, but none of it surprising.  Each revelation only confirms what we suspected about his character: Michelle's darker, temperamental side, Obama's alienation of black leadership, Jews, and other democratic would-be allies, and, most of all, the amateurish way he is running the White House and the country.  Read Klein's book, for that matter just read one chapter of his book, and you'll be beating a path to the polls to vote for Romney and counting the days until Obama is sent back to Chicago or Hawaii or wherever he wants to go.

The Great Destroyer, by David Limbaugh

If you can read this book and not wish with all your heart that Barack Obama would not be reelected, you have some delusional problems.  David Limbaugh (yes, he's Rush's brother) lays out a case against Obama that should be enough to convince anyone that Barack has got to go.  In The Great Destroyer: Barack Obama's War on the Republic, Limbaugh picks apart the Obama presidency and reminds the reader why his election was a bad idea and bad for America.

Most of the events and issues Limbaugh discusses in The Great Destroyer will be familiar to any reader with a passing interest in current events: the Gulf oil spill, Fast and Furious, the ongoing financial crisis, etc.  But Limbaugh brings things together to show connections, and takes the stories deeper than a newspaper article or op-ed typically can.  You may have heard some of Obama's speeches Limbaugh writes about, but by putting them in context and putting them alongside the greater body of Obama's work, he brings out Barack's true colors.

Obama's far-left views are bad enough, but hypocrisy, deceit, and determination to tear this country down are astounding.  Limbaugh shines a light on "the bullying, the class warfare, the demonization of opponents, the narcissism, the rigid dogmatism" that come from Obama.  Several times while reading, I just had to laugh aloud.  I hope that history will look to Limbaugh's perspective, not that of the fawning media, for Obama's legacy.  But I doubt it.  Thank you, David Limbaugh, for being a voice in the wilderness.

The Roots of Obama's Rage, by Dinesh D'Souza

I've read and enjoyed Dinesh D'Souza's books in the past, but this latest book seems to be much different in character than, for instance, his compelling The Virtue of Prosperity.  D'Souza claims to have found the key to all of Obama's domestic and foreign policy: anti-colonialism.  In The Roots of Obama's Rage, D'Souza analyzes Obama's books, primarily Dreams from My Father, looking for what those dreams are.  Barack Obama, Sr., who deserted Barack, Jr., and his mother when Barack was a toddler, returned to his native Kenya with dreams of Kenyan independence and a socialist Kenyan utopia.

Even though Barack, Sr., the man, had very little presence in young Barack's life, Barack, Sr., the myth and legend created by young Barack's mother, loomed large.  You can't fault a single mom for talking up her son's dad, but she left Barack, Jr., with a fantasy.  Rather than remembering his father as a "polygamist who abandoned his wives, drank himself into stupors," lost both legs from a car accident in which he was driving drunk and ultimately died in another drunk driving incident, Obama remembers him as a heroic crusader against British colonialism in Kenya, fighting for Kenyan independence.

Using Obama's own words and arguments, primarily from his books, but also from his speeches, D'Souza demonstrates Obama's anti-colonialist leanings.  It's an interesting case, but I fear D'Souza has taken a myopic approach.  Convinced that Obama embraces his father's anti-colonialism, D'Souza runs everything Obama says and does through that filter.  Not content simply to report on the effective anti-colonialism of Obama's policies, D'Souza frequently attributes a deep anti-colonial motivation to Obama.  I'm not saying he's wrong, I'm just saying he may be overreaching by delving into the realm of "Here's what Obama's really thinking. . . ."

So what is D'Souza's concern?  Simple.  In the Obama, Sr., anti-colonial view, America is that last, greatest colonial power.  To the extent that President Obama shares that view, his anti-colonial mission has a devastating impact on the United States.  Given his anti-colonialism, it's no wonder that Obama's policies serve to weaken the power of the U.S. overseas, while increasing the power of the state in domestic affairs.  As an explanation for Obama's actions and policies, D'Souza's anti-colonialism thesis is quite strong.  The weakness is D'Souza's claim on Obama's motivation.  I agree, Obama is doing all he can to wreck the U.S. economy and weaken our military.  He is a scourge on our nation, and I wish he and his ilk would be removed from office immediately.  But I think his bad policies are a product of bad, but sincere, ideas.  I give him the benefit of the doubt; I assume he thinks he's doing what's best for America.  D'Souza thinks Obama wakes up every morning thinking, "What can I do to bring down the American Empire today?"  As a result, despite the compelling anaysis in D'Souza's insigtful book, he won't likely be heard by any but the most hard-core conservatives and Obama haters.


Down with colonialism!  Down with the Western oppressors!



Trickle Up Poverty, by Michael Savage

Michael Savage hates Barack Obama.  I mean, he despises him.  I'm not talking about hating Obama's policies--he hates those, too--but he really hates Obama, the man, everything he is, and everything he stands for.  If you've ever heard Savage's radio show, you'll already be aware of this animosity.  If you haven't, read a few pages of Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security and any doubt will be removed.  Take these quotes, taken somewhat at random:

"The world Obama envisions is one in which the central government confiscates its citizens' money and transfers it to his political comrades."

"Nothing Obama does, not one single policy or legislative initiative, has anything to do with the will of the people or what might benefit the people."

"Barack Obama doesn't want you to succeed in your job or your small business.  He wants to see you on your knees before him."

The problem I have with this book, and with Savage's radio show, is not that he doesn't have a basis for everything he says.  To the contrary, the man has a Ph.D.!  Even though his degree's in another field, he thoroughly researches his subjects and coherently defends his arguments, and does so in a frequently entertaining way.  The problem is that he does so with vitriol, biting sarcasm, and a vicious sneer.  Even though I almost completely agree with everything Savage says, I am frustrated by his tone.

Yes, Obama can hardly help being a socialist, given his intellectual heritage.  Yes, he has long associated himself with unsavory characters who have corrupted him intellectually, spiritually, and politically.  His ideas and policies are destructive to American, to freedom, and to financial prosperity.  Savage describes and documents all of this, but he comes across as a blowhard because of his rhetoric.  I'm reminded of a sweaty, screaming, pulpit pounding preacher.  The gospel he preaches may be 100% theologically and biblically accurate, but I sure don't want to listen to him.

Even though his style and tone drove me nuts, there's plenty of good information here.  Like I said, I was nodding in agreement the whole time I read.   I'm with Savage: I can't wait until the cancer living in the White House is returned to private life.  If you're looking for more reasons to hate Obama, or justification for reasons to hate him, you'll find it here.  If you're looking for balanced, reasonable policy analysis of the Obama administration, well, you'd probably be better off looking elsewhere.