by Robert M. Traxler
Let’s discuss the way President Barack 
Obama and the good folks on the left look at a problem.
When asked what is to be done with the threat of ISIS/ISIL in the Middle East, President Obama answered that we inherited this problem from the George W. Bush administration and we don’t have a plan as yet. A progressive thinks first and always to establish blame, and a very distant second is how to fix a problem.
President Obama could hold a press conference with one flash card stating that it is all Bush’s fault. We could think that after six years of leading the nation he would stand up and take unqualified responsibility for something.
Those of us who were privileged enough to serve in the military and commanded troops and those of us who have actually managed an organization follow the philosophy that “the maximum effective distance of an excuse is zero meters.”
In a recent debate I had with a liberal friend, he went on and on about the ISIS/ISIL threat being all America’s fault; according to him, we (the United States) gave birth to Islamic terrorism. Every time I asked what should we do to stop ISIS/ISIL and fix the problem, he reverted to blaming the Bush administration.
After a number of very frustrating minutes I forcefully said, “Stop bitching about it and tell me how you would fix it.” His answer was predictable for a socialist: I have no idea, but it should have never been a problem in the first place. My friend, a very smart, well-educated and capable liberal, never gave any thought to solving a very serious international threat; he saw his role as establishing blame, not dealing with the problem.
The left side of the aisle, when asked why President Obama has accomplished little other than socializing a large part of our health care system, will state that the Republicans blocked him at every step. However, for a portion of his presidency he had a veto-proof majority. The facts do not matter — the strategy of accomplish little and blame a lot is always the progressive way. Excuses are easier than accomplishments.
Leadership is a learned skill, contrary to popular belief. All the “natural leaders” from Alexander the Great to General George Patton were developed into leaders over time and were well trained. Socialists/progressives who never commanded or controlled a unit or a for-profit business do not know how to put the blame game behind them; to identify the problem in front of them and solve it.
The Germans in World War II attacked our forces in the Battle of the Bulge and made rapid gains; General Dwight David Eisenhower could have played the blame game, but he told all the senior Allied Commanders to look at this as an opportunity and ordered plans for an attack. Blaming the American Division overrun and perhaps executing the commander would have been what Hitler or Stalin (both socialists) would have done, but that would have accomplished nothing. President Obama constantly blaming President Bush accomplishes little more at this point than wasting time.
Solving a problem starts with seeing the battlefield, evaluating the problem, and developing a course of action. All good leaders learn from mistakes and from history, but do not dwell in the past — they move forward. Dwelling in the past accomplishes nothing and wastes valuable time and assets.
Years of bitching about President Bush and ignoring the ISIS/ISIL threat may be popular with the liberal base on the left, but it again accomplishes nothing. President Obama would benefit from attending a high school Junior ROTC class and learning some basic leadership. President Obama is hurting his coveted legacy by surrounding himself with academics and social justice advocates, and not having advisors who have run something other than a classroom, political campaign or not-for-profit organization.
One must wonder why with all the former Democratic governors and uber-liberal business folks around, he fails to use people with problem-solving skills. Even Hillary Clinton was on the Wal-Mart Board of Directors and around when her husband was a governor and president so she could have helped; but if reports are true, Obama didn’t even trust or confide in her when she was his Secretary of State.
One thing you learn very early in a leadership assignment is that you do not know everything, and how valuable it is to surround yourself with good people who will advise and recommend a variety of courses of action. Surrounding yourself with people who affirm your theories may make your life easier but it is a recipe for failure.
Let’s all pray our next president can solve problems, not just bitch about things, and that he or she gives a tinker’s damn about foreign policy.
President Obama’s leadership style is to place blame first and never, ever address the problems. Leadership is foreign to him. He’s a bloviator of the worst kind – it’s the way it is because he says it is and to hell with the facts. There is no growth now and has been very little or no real growth in the past economy because of his administration’s actions (or lack of) and presidential executive orders. He has a pen and a phone and he is using it, much to the detriment of the American people. Those who run the country should love and respect it – he does neither. Where did this guy come from? Who knows. What were his accomplishments to show the electorate he was prepared to lead? There are none. What are his beliefs? Marxism, radicalism, and a visceral hate for freedom and liberty – those things that must be present and foremost in this country’s leadership thinking and ideals. Don’t expect any “progressive” things to come from the Obama Administration except more misery and the failure of the leadership to continue and get worse.