Blame it on the President

This is an updated version of an editorial I wrote for the school paper in February.


Nobama. Spell check says Obama is Osama. Satan and Cheney ’04. Google “miserable failure”.
Are these expressions really about political views, or do they place merely blame? In 1995, Bill Clinton was a scapegoat for our nation’s problems. Later, George W. Bush received this honor. Now, some say that Barack Obama is responsible for the state of our nation and the poor economy he inherited. Whoever is the current president unfortunately becomes the other party’s explanation for anything that is wrong. When the economy struggled after the September 11 attacks, some blamed Bush. However, this was caused by circumstances that he did not control. Others praised him for the way he responded, which is all we can hold him accountable for.
Most recently, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has caused much discussion, as Republicans blame Obama for not regulating the oil industry, yet they previously criticized him for wanting to regulate health care. However, these policies were loosened under Bush. This is a classic example of how one party blames the other for any problem.
But where should the blame really lie?
A trillion dollar deficit, nearly ten percent unemployment, troops in two overseas nations, and countless other issues are apparent in our country today. We cannot blame Obama for what he inherited. The problems we have right now are going to hard to fix, no matter what party is represented in government. We are not united as Americans when we are caught up in partisanship.
Of course, many of us disagree with what the president is doing, and this is fine. We are blessed with free speech here. However, this should be a disagreement about the policy decisions-not about the president’s party, race, or who he is. It is not necessary to compare him to Hitler or a terrorist. Political parties should be about electing leaders with our opinions. It should not become like a baseball rivalry or a source of disrespectful jokes. A political debate should not turn into a “My Dad (party) can beat up your Dad” argument. When we focus on blaming others; we miss the root cause of the issues and thus we cannot see how to solve them. If you do not like a president’s response to a problem, say it, but do not blame him for what it is out of his control.