© 2012 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Who was tallest, shortest, spoke Chinese to his wife and which president put indoor plumbing in the White House? I love presidential history. Not just trivia, but the way presidents think. Therein has been a problem with Barack Obama because there was so much I did not know about him. And, not much of what he did as president made any sense, until now.
Dinesh D’Souza has a new book out: Obama’s America: unmaking the American Dream. From the book D’Souza produced a documentary in theatres: 2016: Obama’s America. The movie is a visual image of the themes of the book.
When I first heard of the project I had five related questions:
1) Does the research seem valid with appropriate questions relatively free of bias?
2) What are the facts about President Obama?
3) What rumors are untrue about the President?
4) How is President Obama like and unlike the other U.S. Presidents?
5) What intellectual compass does the president use for his decisions?
Some have eagerly embraced the book and movie while others would not touch either without a gun to their head. Several people told me angrily that this is just more Republican lies. Not surprisingly when I ask if they have they seen it, they say “No.” Others say they believe every word of it, though they also have not seen it.
There are many Americans who already have made up their mind about Barack Obama. All they look for is confirmation of their beliefs about him. Luckily there are plenty of other people who just want to know the truth. This group is where D’Souza aimed his project because he felt that certain parts of the Obama story were missing and the media was not going to even admit these parts were missing.
For me, I had read other books about the president and spent quite a bit of time mulling over what I knew and did not know. There was vastly more I did not know which is quite different from all other presidents. More so, I could not predict what this president was going to do because I did not understand his presidency.
So I read the book with a great deal of skepticism as a guard against my biases. In the course of the arguments that D’Souza made I came to understand Barack Obama does not do things by accident, he has a grand design for his presidency. Taken as a body of decisions, there is clarity and purpose in his decisions.
D’Souza debates each aspect of the Obama story showing both sides. He carefully crafted the story so that there are no big surprises, just moments when the actions and the explanations come together. Example: people say Obama is a Muslim which D’Souza shows is completely false using Obama’s book, Dreams of my father.
“Well, Michael,” people ask, “Do you think this will doom Obama’s reelection chance?” I have no idea how much people are paying attention to the facts. After all, we spend lots of time on Medicare and Social Security while the facts are well known: the government took all of the cash out of the lockbox in the late 1960s and nothing any of us have given to the government has been saved.
Everyone knows this truth but politicians on both sides of the aisle lie about it and no one seems to care. To fix the problem should we cut benefits or raise contributions? If the government does not save any of the user contributions, the crisis will linger forever.
So Mr. President… are you happy most Americans do not know you and your dreams for our shared America? Are you glad that your supporters will not watch the movie or read the book? Perhaps.
Americans are at an interesting point in our Presidential Politics. The story was researched well and told compellingly. It is available to all who want the truth about President Obama and his design for a lesser America. Many will not touch it for fear they would have to change their opinion about the President. I am now sure that the president’s clear vision of America’s future is not the same as mine.
Dr. Michael Swickard is co-host of radio talk show News New Mexico 6 to 9 a.m. Monday - Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. Email: michael@swickard.com
