The Most Something or Other President Ever

Why was Barack Obama elected to the highest office on planet Earth? What did he do to deserve what so many others could only dream about? Why do some on the left still think he can walk on water and shoot a decent 3 point shot? Charisma.

Max Weber, a German sociologist, said charisma is a “certain quality of an individual, by virtue of which one is “set apart” from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, super human, or at least specifically exceptional powers--these were qualities that are regarded as divine origin or as exemplary.”

Google Online defines charisma as 1. Compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others. 2. A divinely conferred power or talent. The word comes from the Greek kharis meaning divine favor or grace.

One thing for certain, an effective or “strong” leader should have both charisma and operational ability. Does President Barack Hussein Obama have both charisma and the ability to use that charisma to effectively lead our country? This post will discuss this issue and you can decide.

First, we need to know what one needs to be charismatic. Some of the qualities that were explored in the research of social scientists like Weber have concluded charisma requires: a) the ability to feel ones own emotions very strongly; b) to have the ability to excite emotions in others; c) and have the ability to not be influenced by others who are charismatic. Aside from Saul Alinsky and Karl Marx, Obama doesn't need to worry about this one.

According to Tanya Prive (Forbes Online, 12/19/2012) there are at least ten qualities that any effective leader must have in order to be successful. Let’s explore how Barack Obama fits in.

1. Honesty. This is the one area that Barry fails at the most. When his lips move, he’s lying. Take for example the IRS, Fast and Furious, the Associated Press, Benghazi, and his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, which as it turns out, is an oxymoron. He has lost trust with the American people and he did so because he cannot manage to speak the truth. He has lied on every issue and dismisses them as if they are simply scandals. Giving guns to the Mexican drug cartels, going after journalists for doing their job, allowing four men to die in an American facility in Benghazi, and screwing up Obamacare are not scandals.

2. Ability to delegate. It seems as though Mr. Obama excels in delegating responsibility to others. Where he fails at this as an actual leader is in knowing his team’s strengths and weaknesses. Had he known this, he would’ve never put Kathleen Sebelius in charge of the website development of Obamacare. Putting Sebelius in charge of the website is like putting Lucy in charge of the conveyor belt. Putting Holder in charge of the DoJ is like putting bin Laden in charge of orchestrating a bar mitzvah.

3. Communication. Obama says that he gets his information the same way the "people" do: by the mainstream media. If that’s true, then the country is in trouble. If he is not communicating with the people he puts in charge, then he is by all means incompetent.

4. Sense of humor. One will never accuse the president of not having a good sense of humor. In fact, he has made jokes about his failed website, his wife, himself, and his many failures in judgment. By the very fact that he has selected Joe – the – Village – Idiot Biden as his Vice President, is further proof that he has an abundant sense of humor. I believe Biden was a good choice for Obama; he is the best impeachment insurance a president could ever want.

5. Confidence. He has so much confidence that it shoots out of his butt. No past president has shown as much confidence as Barack Hussein Obama. Unfortunately, his confidence is based on ignorance of the facts, particularly those of mathematics.

 6. Commitment. One way a leader can show this quality is to lead by example. If playing golf in the middle of a crisis is leading by example then Obama is demonstrating an incredibly strong commitment.

7. Positive attitude. President Obama exudes a positive attitude. He’s got positive attitude coming out of his ears, and that’s a lot of attitude. He is so positive with his staff that they had no fear of reprisal for anything they do in line with their responsibilities. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kathleen Sebelius has a crush on him.

8. Creativity. No president in the history of our country has been more creative in the cover ups and excuses made for the failures and unethical behaviors perpetrated by his administration. When it comes to covering up lies and screw ups, no president has been more creative.

9. Intuition. When the proverbial cah-cah hits the fan, your team looks to you for guidance when you are a leader. You need to be there for them. They depend on you. You don’t play golf instead.

10. Ability to inspire. Yes, he says he can.

So it seems clear that President Obama is charismatic. But charisma without ability to put it to work effectively is as useless as eyes on a bat. The country was infatuated by him when he first got elected. Harry Reid even admitted that he spoke like a white man. However, as time went on, it was obvious, even to liberals, that Obama was a fraud. He could “talk the talk,” but he couldn’t “walk the walk.” But even so, to "talk the talk," he needed a Teleprompter.

The best comparison that I can think of is that infatuated love and what has happened since. Companionate love becomes stronger as time goes on. It may be less intense than infatuated love, but it’s more enduring. With infatuated love, the people involved have the strongest feelings regarding each other at a point in the relationship when they know the least about each other. 

When he started out, the country was infatuated with Barack Obama. But now they know.

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