Only 88 Days Remaining!

In early June, 2010, in a dramatic moment during the Gulf oil spill operations, Obama made the unexpected admission that his powers were “not limitless.”^[i]  A few months later, in October, 2010, he told radio personality Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, that:

“…I am president, I am not king. I can’t do these things just by myself. We have a system of government that requires the Congress to work with the executive branch to make it happen.” ^[ii]

A few nights later he told supporters at a Democratic Dinner that Healthcare Reform took time, because this is:

“…not a monarchy we live in. This is a democracy.”^[iii]

On February 22, 2012, back with Univision’s Los Angeles based Sotelo show, Obama again lamented the powerlessness of his Presidency under Constitutional restraints, saying:

“Piolin, I would only have broken my promise [on comprehensive immigration reform] if I hadn’t tried. But ultimately, I’m one man. You know, we live in a democracy. We don’t live in a monarchy. I’m not the king. I’m the president. And so, I can only implement those laws that are passed through Congress.”^[iv]

All of this, of course, is his “Go To” rhetoric when explaining away his failure to achieve bipartisan consensus and legislation.  Still, it’s interesting that he seems so consistently focused on monarchies and kingships, because while he claims we’re not a monarchy and that he’s not a king, he seems to have no problem playing the role.

At a Las Vegas campaign event on Oct. 24, 2011, President Obama told his audience that:

 “…I’ve told my administration to keep looking every single day for actions we can take without Congress.”^[v]

On Oct. 26, 2011, at still another campaign opportunity at the University of Colorado, President Obama declared:

“We can’t wait for Congress to do its job. So where they won’t act, I will.

“…And I’ve told my administration we’re going to look every single day to figure out what we can do without Congress.”^[vi]

On Nov. 2, 2011, in a speech at Georgetown Waterfront Park, Obama told prospective 2012 voters:

“We can’t wait for Congress to do its job. If they won’t act, I will.”^[vii]

On January 4, 2012, during a speech at Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, President Obama told a large Democrat audience:

“When Congress refuses to act, and as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then I have an obligation as President to do what I can without them.”^[viii]

On Feb. 21, 2012, Obama said:

“Now, whenever Congress refuses to act, Joe [Biden] and I, we’re going to act.”^[ix]

On Feb. 23, 2012, at another campaign event at the University of Miami, President Obama again stated – and both unbelievably and hypocritically, given the subject of energy independence – that:

“With or without this Congress, I will continue to do whatever I can to develop every source of American energy so our future isn’t controlled by events on the other side of the world.”^[x]

Yet, in his restrictions on drilling and his disapproval of a much needed pipeline, he all but guarantees the control of our future by “events on the other side of the world.”

Meanwhile, President Obama had no problem bypassing the U.S. Senate and using the pretext of “recess appointments” to install Richard Cordray as head of his new Financial Protection Bureau, or to appoint three new members to the National Labor Relations Board.^[xi]

He had no problem taking the country to war against Libya without Congressional approval^[xii] – and his Communication Director warns us that our problems require:

“‘bold, bipartisan action in Congress’ but that Mr. Obama ‘believes we cannot wait, so he will act where they won’t.’”^[xiii]

Let’s see…Democracy…Constitution…eliminating the role of congress…Might this be the equivalent of a Monarchy?

Perhaps he does think himself a king.