IRS Scandal: Benghazi, IRS, and AP Reveal Obama's Contempt For Ordinary Americans

Impact

As many PolicyMic readers know, I am not a supporter of Barack Obama. In fact, I published numerous essays on this site urging voters to cast their ballots for his opponent in 2012. But my disapproval of the president’s performance has reached a new high in the wake of three scandals that cloud his administration. The Benghazi terrorist attacks, the Internal Revenue Service profiling of conservatives, and the Department of Justice seizures of telephone records of the Associated Press are wreaking havoc on the credibility and integrity of the Obama administration. 

I am not inclined to prosecute these situations in this essay. Liberal and conservative media outlets have covered it nonstop and have been highly critical of Obama. Rather, I would like to highlight the attitude, demeanor, and arrogance of the president and his disciples as they fend off questions about their actions.

Any observer should conclude that the president believes the three scandals are not worthy of his attention. Moreover, he has either tacitly or explicitly endorsed cover-ups that have been exposed as such by the media and Congress as they drill deeper into each situation.

It should be noted that members of both political parties are calling for investigations into the IRS scandal. Yet the president continues to avoid the fray. His response was to fire the head of the IRS and tell the press that he would ensure the agency would not commit similar infractions in the future. Conservatives will not allow this situation to be swept under the carpet in this manner.

In the Benghazi case, Obama said the media and Republicans (an unlikely alliance) are shamefully digging into the cause of the incident, inadequate response to the attack, and political motivations of the administration’s characterization of what occurred.

Finally, as expected, the media is very sensitive about the AP seizures. Frankly, this issue is more important to this group than to the average American even though it is a gross abuse of power by the government. What else might the authorities delve into without obtaining approval by the courts in the interest of national security?

All of the presidential double-talk, condescending lecturing about what is appropriate for Congress to investigate, and continuing use of executive privilege are making the administration look guilty of something. History has proven that covering up misdemeanors is the most idiotic strategy for any politician, as the cover-up is often a worse crime than the underlying behavior.

Benghazi provided proof that Al-Qaeda is still a force to be reckoned with, a contradiction of what Obama said during the 2012 campaign. Nevertheless, it appears that the Benghazi explanations offered to Americans were manipulated to de-emphasize this reality. It would have been much smarter for the administration to fess up and not resort to “white” lies and distortions to save political face.

Obama indicated that he learned of the IRS's profiling of conservatives in the newspapers like all the rest of us common folk. This man is the most powerful person in the world. He doesn’t learn anything of importance from newspapers aside from which baseball teams won the night before.

After observing many political campaign screw-ups over the years, it is evident that the press will eventually expose errors and/or improper actions by politicians. There is no possibility that government officials can put anything over on America in this day and age. So, the best strategy is transparency and less dependence on national security. Firing those responsible is another way for a president to deflect culpability. It may be savvy politically, but dishing out blame to underlings when a president is involved is dangerous business.

Amazingly, even as he pirouettes around the questions posed by the media, the president is still protected by many liberal talking heads. These people continue to drink Obama’s Kool-Aid. Why does this president deserve so much loyalty from the liberal press? What has he done that makes these people so protective of his reputation? Would any Republican president ever have the same support?

The president is, or is acting as if he is, withholding information pertinent to the three major events. If he lives up to his duties as president, he will provide Congress, our duly elected representatives, and the media with the whole truth about these incidents. It appears to many that the president really does believe Americans are his sheep and we should follow him blindly. That sounds more like a monarchy that all of America should resist.