To day, Obama and Biden were sworn into office for their second terms as President and vice president. It struck me that at the very end of the first term and the very beginning of the second term that they evolved into a very effective team. The negotiations, which for all practical purposes, seemed headed by Biden related to the fiscal cliff finished the first term and gun legislation started the second. At first, I found it strange that such an effective and dynamic President as Obama is did not head the negotiations with congress with the Vice President following behind dutifully nodding his head; the exact opposite of what seems to have happened. The public perception is that Biden did the negotiations is not wrong; he did. However, stop for a minute and evaluate what is happening.
The president has invited congressional leaders to the White House, he has tried repeatedly to meet with them, he has tried to compromise on a number of issues, and each time the Republican opposition rejected his inititvies. The Republicans not only rejected extended olive branch time after time, they insultingly slapped away every one of his peace overtures. The level of hate that the Republican operatives generated toward Obama seems inexplicable but there was a reason; they wanted to destroy him as a man and as a president, perhaps because they had no good counter debate to his liberal policies they needed something else. Senator minority leader McConnell said after Obama was elected that his main job for the next four years was to “make him fail”. Speaker Boehner refused to compromise on all legislation; saying in effect that if he (Republicans) did not get everything they asked for, he would prevent the House of Representatives from even voting on what the President endorsed—even their own legislation; it was ludicrous. They even personalizing the hate by the way Republicans treated Gov. Charlie Chris of Florida after he put his arm around Obama. Everyone knows the Muslim label and the “birther” thing the party leaders keep brining up was a clear indication they wanted to make everyone believe he was not an American. Much of what they were doing was code just short of using the “n” word for labeling him black. Their message was clear; he is, was, and always would be unfit to be president and they internationally insulted a huge segment of our populations in doing it.
In spite of all their hate and his personal feeling about the insults thrown at him, Obama eventually found a way to move forward. He cleverly responded to all the vitriol with calm composure. As the American President, he has an important job to do and he is doing it in spite of them. Without great fanfare, he put Joe Biden, a man who loves and respects him, a man with 35 years working with Congress and is President of the Senate in charge of negotiating legislation with that body. He did this in such a way that the people know he is giving the orders. With him in charge and Biden doing the negotiating, he has formed the perfect team and developed the perfect strategy for “their” second term. A lesser man could not have done what Obama did; in my opinion the man we inaugurated today is already a great president. What are Republicans going to do to block legislation start using codes for the “n” word to slur “good old Joe” in a culture that—except for a small hate group of Republican operatives—has “gone with the wind” 150 years ago? They have no choice but to debate the legislation and not the man.
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