Obama in 4 Quotes by his favorite person: Barack Obama

Obama in 4 Quotes by his favorite person: Barack Obama

Ed Lasky

It does not take many words to sum up the character (or lack thereof) of the current president. The best part is that they are his own words.

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

This was far from the first time he trumpeted Big Government and disparaged Americans:

"And if we can't ask from society's lottery winners to just make that modest investment, then really this conversation [on poverty] is just for show."

One of many times he has criticized people who, through blood, sweat and tears -- and risk taking, hard work and sacrifice, have achieved a degree of financial success. They are not "lottery winners," a term that insults them.

"You would think they'd be saying thank you" 

(to him), when he mocked people who were advocating lower taxes. He was not responsible for minor tax cuts forced upon him as part of a deal with Republicans. And he raised other taxes. He just wanted to take credit for the work of others. This is a chronic feature of his character.

When I take an unemployment rate of 10 percent down to 5.5 percent, when I drive the uninsured rate to the lowest it's ever been, when I restore people's 401(k)s." 

Ruth Marcus, Washington Post liberal columnist, called this habit of his infuriating grandiosity and is yet another display of his overuse of the first person pronoun.

How does one reconcile the first quote and the last one? In one case, no single person is ever responsible for success, even if it is "just" building a business; in the other case, Barack Obama credits himself as being the only person responsible for lowering the unemployment rate, lowering the uninsured rate, and restoring people's 401 (k)s. 

These are all false claims, of course. But honesty does not stop him from claiming credit for the work of others -- this time in a truly shameless way. Has there ever been a bigger braggart as president?

That was a rhetorical question.