"The Man in the Mirror!"

Do you like carnivals? I remember them touring the Chicago area when I was a kid. They had rides and games of chance that were practically impossible to win. Lights and "piped in music" were everywhere. As I walked through the carnival midway, there were mirrors that distorted one's image. You could have a huge head or a giant bottom, depending upon the mirror you chose. You could move your body up or down to change your image. You could be something you were not just by stepping in front of this mirror. It was fun changing my face and body; even though the image I saw wasn't really mine. At times, we color our childhood to make the image different than it was. We like to forget those things that weren't much fun, and we magnify those things that brought us pleasure; this is human nature. In today's life, we have a tendency to put our mistakes aside and focus on our triumphs and good decisions. There are times when we will even deny making poor choices to preserve our collective pride. The words "I don't remember doing that" is part of every one's dialogue at one time or another. We also say things like "Are you sure I said that?" We like to be winners: we like to be right all the time. We don't like to be caught on the losing side of anything; that is also human nature.

How many of you remember last summer? I remember the demonstration in front of the Capitol Building on the day that "Obamacare" was passed. Thousands of Americans stood outside urging our representatives not to pass this policy into law. Our representatives decided that they would choose to ignore those demonstrators and the polls that showed that 70% of Americans didn't want this bill passed. Last week, those same legislators found out that they should have paid more attention to the voters and less attention to agenda. I remember watching the health-care conference that Mr. Obama chaired. I remember him totally discounting every alternative that the Republican leadership proposed, and his insulting tone to John McCain, in a "school-boy" dressing down. He said at the close of that conference "I want something on my desk in the next four to six weeks", his tone was stern and dictatorial. We ended up with over 2000 pages nobody read and passed along party lines.

Last week, the mid-term election sent a message to this administration; "LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA!" After the results were finally in, Mr. Obama made a speech about cooperation, and how he has made an effort to be cooperative since he took over the Oval Office. As I listened to him speak, I was astounded; this President is the most partisan I've seen since Richard Nixon. From the White House all the way to Congress, an attitude of arrogance and disdain of the Republicans has been pervasive since "Day One" by virtually every Democrat in office. Closed doors have been the accepted practice over the last twenty months by this administration; cooperation has been non-existent because of deliberate Democrat exclusion of the Republican Party in all decisions. Now, it seems Mr. Obama perceives himself as the "Great Uniter"; honestly, I don't see that anywhere in his past actions.

I think Barack Obama is standing in front of that "carnival mirror" distorting his image to fit his perception of himself. You better get a new "mirror" Mr. President. America has seen you for who you are without the aid of that "CARNIVAL MIRROR"; we saw you, WARTS AND ALL!