Your Voice: Obama waffles, then pours the syrup

We have all seen our floundering president backtrack and skirt the truth on a number of issues. Somehow, he has always managed to turn a third strike into a homerun. Just look at his “red line in the sand” on Syria.

President Barack Obama claimed that if Syria used chemical weapons that would be a “game changer” for him presumably provoking more than merely a stern word from our Commander in Chief. 

However, once Syria crossed that line, President Obama seemed unwilling to make good on this threat alone, and unable to garner support for military action. The American people, who are more and more frequently winding up on the other side of the line from our illustrious president, were steadfast in their opposition to the Old Stars and Stripes entering yet another conflict. 

With domestic problems mounting, Obamacare and the train wreck that is chiefly among them, Americans find themselves wincing with greater frequency at the idea of Washington spending more of their hard-earned greenbacks, whatever the cause. 

Further, Americans are becoming more exposed to the vanity of one man, and his attempts to save face both at home and on the world stage, and are more reluctant than ever to sacrifice more of our resources to serve that vanity, including the lives of our men and women in uniform. 

Still, for having blundered so badly on that issue, Barack Obama managed to punt by sending his criers out to proudly announce that a diplomatic option is not only possible, but is preferable to a more direct intervention. Even though Barack Obama is not himself leading the charge for diplomacy, saving that particular honor for President Vladamir Putin of Russia; the way he is trying to take the credit for it, you'd think he brokered the deal himself. 

So how will Barack Obama save himself and his party this time as Americans begin to feel the effects of a shutdown federal government? I don't think he knows for sure, but I would like to weigh in myself and bring forth my predictions for how he will bunt to get a base in this debate. 

First, he will continue to take his hard-line stance and refuse to negotiate. Then as tensions in the country mount over various federal agencies and employees not receiving funding and paychecks, he will pretend to negotiate with Congress on a deal that most likely delays Obamacare's implementation until a future date. Likely he will want this issue of Obamacare to not come back during an election year when his allies in the House and Senate will have to run on defending this unpopular monstrosity. 

Once the “lights come back on” so to speak, in the Capital, Obama will undoubtedly claim that his two pair beat the House Republican's full house, and once again he will have fallen in a dog pile and come out smelling like roses. The mainstream media, which is little more than Obama’s lapdogs, will once again praise him for a great victory over the evil Republican Party and its desire to see every American reduced to poverty. 

It’s our job as informed, educated Americans to see to it that does not happen again and that our “sleeping” brothers and sisters know who is truly fighting for the little man in this government. 

- James Vitagliano Jr.

Rochester