Obama's losing his cred.

President Obama came into office with a massive amount of good will behind him. Young voters, liberal Democrats, conservative Democrats, a good percentage of Republicans, Communists, Socialists, welfare queens, financiers, the oil industry, the media, the Hollywood elite, every branch of the music biz except for perhaps Country Western, among others, all gave Obama every chance following his "all things to all people" campaign.

Somehow, Obama has managed to squander away a huge amount of his "mojo" over the last 18 months. I figured he'd fall eventually, no man could possibly live up to the incredibly high standards Obama set for himself. Superman is, after all, a cartoon character. However, even I didn't figure he'd fall this far, this fast. After hearing Obama speak "off the cuff" compared to reading his teleprompter, I knew he was no "Great Communicator" on par with Reagan, but I honestly thought Obama's handlers were a far better gang of political "whiz kids" than they've turned out to be. I thought they would keep their lead man out of trouble.

This administration hit the ground with both feet on pavement, and took off running. Unfortunately, somehow it seems they've been managing to run a zig-zag course which often brings them right back to where they started from. And each loop they've made around their wild and wacky track seems to have weakened them in the eyes of the American people. Folks want to see progress, not just a bunch of mad action with no apparent results.

The American people were also hungry for a leader who talked change, and would actually deliver. A Washington D.C. filled with partisan bickering, back room deals, and perceived indifference and mismanagement, was exactly what the majority voted against in November 2008.

But what we got was not quite what we voted for.

Joe Sestak's assertions that the Obama White House offered him a job in exchange for Sestak choosing not to run against Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democrat Senate primary is another in a series of disappointments from the current administration. Sestak himself can stand tall in that he made the right decision, and declined the offer. However, those who didn't vote for Obama still want an honest, open government of which to be proud. Not many Americans are happy with the status quo in Washington, D.C. Even an honest critic of Obama would be able to recognize integrity when they see it, and perhaps even give a little credit where credit is due.

But for all the pre-election hype surrounding Obama's "Hope and Change", what we've ended up with is merely another run of the mill politician, who led the American people to believe that "Change" meant an open, trustworthy Presidency which would make the people of the United States feel like they were part of the program.

I don't think anyone, myself included, thought the Obama administration, from nearly day one of their official ascention to power, would be so cynical as to do almost the exact opposite of what was promised in the campaign, and think they could get away with it.

I don't know how much more of this the American people are going to be asked to take, but I can say with relative certainty that with nearly each week bringing yet another reason for Obama's apologists to make the rounds to nationwide media outlets in an attempt to explain away the administrations unusual modus operandi, voters are becoming increasingly weary of example after example of the "same old politics", and then some. The people of the United States simply did not know they were voting for an extension of the Chicago political machine to move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Indeed, I'm sure that was the farthest thing from their minds.

And for of all things, to have squandered the people's trust in support of Arlen Specter? The turncoat opportunist politician already looked upon with a skeptical eye by Democrats, and as a traitor by Republicans? What kind of lapse of judgement allows a decision like THAT to be made? Are we sure we want folks with so little common sense running the whole show?

I'm reminded of some lyrics sung by Johnny Cash on one of his last albums:

"Well, one time when things was looking bright,
I started to whittling on a stick one night.
Who said, "Hey, that's dynamite."
Nobody."

Offering Joe Sestak a job to stay out of the Pennsylvania Senate race was political dynamite, and very volotile dynamite indeed, considering Obama's promises of an open and honest government. A government which would not be marred by the influence peddling and back room deals utilized by the previous administrations, which played so much a part in Obama's campaign speeches.

Whomever of Obama's inner circle was standing about, and didn't hollar a warning, when someone brought up the "great idea" of offering folks jobs to keep them from running for office, must not have been paying much attention when Obama was giving his speeches during the campaign.