Does Obama Want to Be the Post-American President?

While reading an article about President Obama in the UK Telegraph, speculating about whether or not Obama even wants a second term, I was struck by the conclusion of the article. (Emphasis mine.)

In Berlin in 2008, Obama cast himself as a "citizen of the world". He has dismissed the bedrock notion of American exceptionalism by describing it, also in Strasbourg, as little more than narrow patriotism. Elite opinion among liberal Ivy League types - of which Obama is the embodiment - holds that we are already living in a post-American world.

There are few Americans who see themselves as bigger than the presidency but Obama could well be one of them. In 2008, Obama showed little appetite for the down-and-dirty aspects of political campaigning.

When things got tough against Hillary Clinton, he all but conceded the final Democratic primaries and let the clock run out. Against John McCain, he developed a campaign plan and refused to deviate from it. McCain was level in the polls when the US economy imploded, handing Obama a relatively comfortable victory.

Obama is the first black American president, an established author, multi-millionaire and acclaimed figure beyond American shores.

It seems highly unlikely that Obama will decide not to run in 2012. But he might well be calculating that a embarking post-presidential role as the leading global thinker in the post-American world as a Republican successor enters office is more attractive than being sullied by the political compromises and manoeuvrings necessary to win.

Obama is our first post-American president. In his eyes, America never earned or deserved it's place in the world, and he's going to do something about it. I remember hearing Rush Limbaugh say that someone close to the Obama administration told him that he or she believed their job is to manage the decline of America. I did a search, and couldn't find the exact quote I was thinking of, but I found this which is close enough.

Obama, he talks Alinsky very well. (imitating Obama) "Private sector? That's where all jobs are, we need to grow the private sector." Well, then do it, get out of the way, get out of their way. They're telling you you are in their way. Your expansionist government plans, cap and tax, health care, amnesty for illegals, they don't know what they're dealing with here. They're not going to invest in growth until all this shakes out. And if it shakes out with Obama getting everything he wants, they're going to close shop. This is purposeful, managing the decline. Think of it that way. If it's a little easier for you to get your arms around and have it not be so disturbing: "They're managing the nation's decline." If, "They're destroying the country on purpose," is just too coarse and too harsh, you don't want to believe that, then "managing America's decline." Because you have to agree we're in decline, don't you? Would you all agree with me that we're in decline? Well, we certainly aren't ascending.

President Obama, from the day he was elected, believes it's his job to manage the decline of this great republic of ours. They even see it overseas, why else would they call him "post-American?" But he's not managing the decline, he's hastening it. He wants to see America in decline. What else would explain his insane policies? America's best days are behind us, in his mind.

Unless there's some dramatic change, I don't see the American people standing for this. I'm hopeful that the progressives haven't yet made such a mark on our society that the people don't understand what it means to be American. They didn't on 9/11/01. Have we changed that much in nine years that we're just willing to throw our hands up in the air and say "That's it. That's the end of American exceptionalism and the American dream."? I certainly hope not. I know I'm not about to do that. I can't! I have two young boys with the best years of their lives ahead of them. We may have some rough times ahead of us, but this republic has been through worse. It's up to us to make sure that we minimize the damage of this post-American president. Our kids are depending on us.

Cross posted from the Lonely Conservative