What can I say? Obama is way out of his depth ...

Great leaders inspire the citizens to follow them, first with their words then with their actions. It seems Obama never got the hang of that second part.

And now Obama doesn't even speak to our concerns ... no, "concerns" is too weak of a word. He doesn't address our anxiety or our fear or our pain. You can't tell millions who are out of work and unable to support their families that Obama's economic plan is working ... not when real long-term unemployment is the highest its been since the depression and not moving ... and he and his administration moved heaven and earth to save the wealthy criminals who got us into this mess. (Is there any doubt after learning how the subprime mortgages were handled that these brilliant thieves committed fraud?)

And what about the 23% reduction in Medicare reimbursement that will decimate healthcare for many Seniors, and is now—literally—being kicked down the road month to month? (See http://www.emaxhealth.com/1506/senate-agrees-delay-medicare-reimbursement-cuts )

And when Obama doesn't address these issues except obliquely in the general sense of we should trust him to know best ... and look how much he has already done ... while we are experiencing personal catastrophe ... well?

And their is little that is more catastrophic to the average family bread-winner than long term unemployment with no real hope of getting another job that pays the bills ... or loss of specialized medical care to a Senior Citizen like myself suffering from end-stage renal disease aka kidney failure, afib (heart disease), and prostate cancer. That's pretty darn "local" as in Tip O'Neill's "All politics is local." (See http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/the-old-man-medicare-matters/ )

Obama is way out of his depth and doesn't get it ... in part because he has isolated himself from the people. He seems to think we should accept his view of the way we are when he isn't looking at it from our position. And he has not convinced us that his view is our reality, because if it were, he would be doing more to change that reality, wouldn't he? ... or is he so impervious to our pain and fear that he accepts it as necessary and unavoidable?

Obama shows no sign of feeling the pain of the unemployed family bread-winner or the fear of the Senior Citizen tethered to specialized medical care that is keeping us alive.

And he shows no sign of understanding the political fallout of blaming the troops for not understanding or supporting the battle plan ... or how that reflects on his leadership. When leaders start blaming the citizens for having lost confidence in their leadership, it is a sure sign that we need new leaders.