“The Buck Stops Where?”

  • by:
  • 03/02/2023

During my decades with Varsity, a company I started in my own apartment and over time grew into a $2 billion-plus operation, the one thing I learned was just how important was that sign on President Harry Truman’s desk that read, “the buck stops here.” There is no way to have a title that says, “I’m in charge,” and at the same time, make statements that indicate somebody(ies) else is pulling your strings.

That is, of course, unless you are President Joe Biden. On Wednesday, the marionette President made a few remarks before media and then created a viral video when after first stepping away from the mic, he walked back to address reporters shouting questions. It was then that he said, "You guys are bad, I'm not supposed to be answering all these questions, I'm supposed to leave,"

Who told him he was supposed to?

[caption id="attachment_188949" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]Border crisis. Border crisis.[/caption]

Joe Biden has been in office just under four months. It seems unimaginable that so much could happen in so little time. Here is a shortlist of where America stands at the moment:

Chaos on the southern border: Upon taking office, the President executed a series of executive orders relating to illegal immigration; some made it safe to stay, others made it feel safe to come. Today the crisis at the border is unprecedented. The American people have figured out who is to blame. A recent poll showed that across all age, party, and ethnic lines, a majority of folks say that the illegal immigration “buck” stops at Joe Biden’s desk.

Rising inflation: Consumer prices rose 4.2% in April, the highest spike since 2008. While the President may not have “caused” this directly (inflation being a sign of the money supply increasing faster than the level of goods and services being produced), his out-of-control spending plans will require yet more money to be printed. He shows no recognition or acceptance of reality.

Schools not back in session: We are near the end of the school year, and not all schools are back open the way the President promised they would be during his first 100 days. You can argue that the decisions are local, but that is not the argument he was making when he made the promise back in December.

Employment numbers sagging: With there being a reported 8.1 million new jobs available, last week's numbers show that only just over 200,000 new jobs were added. This is clearly related to the President’s lucrative $300 per week added unemployment benefit that subsidizes leisure time and discourages work. America is rapidly developing a class of dependency that does not bode well for long-term national health, either of the economic or spiritual sort.

Gas stations closing down: Over 17,000 stations “ran out of gas” this past week as citizens panicked over the pipeline shutdown that was the result of a foreign source computer hack. Consumers created run-on stations reminiscent of bank runs in the early days of the Great Depression. Some areas impacted were ones that did not even have disruption of supply from the shutdown. People were just plain frightened.

The Middle East is in turmoil: Suddenly and dramatically, a part of the world that seemed to have not just stabilized but to have actually made progress toward peace during the Trump administration feels like it is coming apart, and coming apart quickly. The current fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists has dominoes in the Levant teetering. Our President seems to be a non-entity in the situation. While the Washington Post might like to criticize the Trump administration’s Abraham Accords, that sure seems a lot better than what we see now.

[caption id="attachment_188948" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]Gas shortage. Gas shortage.[/caption]

I don’t seem to recall this sort of chaos under President Trump. It was only in the last year of his presidency when the combination of a virus from China being unleashed, along with the nationwide riots triggered by the death of George Floyd, that we felt that things were “off track.” Under Biden, it seems as though the entire country has derailed. In just over four months, he has made the four-year projected term of his presidency seem like it will feel more like 40 years by the time he finishes—if he finishes.

Real questions have been asked as to President Biden’s fitness for office. I have asked those questions. I will ask them again. Concerns over his mental capacity have been raised by people as far apart on the political spectrum as Sean Hannity and Naomi Wolf. I find myself starting to actually hope that we are dealing with an issue of mental competence. To think otherwise is to have to accept we have elected a man to the highest office in our land whose key attributes are a dangerous political alchemy of cowardice, temerity, and indifference.

President Biden needs to step to a microphone and start to answer questions. He can’t answer those that are pre-selected. He can’t just call on friendly reporters. He can’t leave the podium when someone from his handler-group tells him it’s time. We need an American afternoon at the improv with Joe Biden.

A significant number of Americans’ voted for Joe Biden simply because he was not Donald Trump. That’s correct. He is certainly not like his bold and decisive predecessor, whose personal style often, and sadly, obfuscated his policy decisions. The problem is that Joe Biden is also no Harry Truman when it comes to accepting personal responsibility.

Maybe it isn’t Joe’s fault? Maybe he just truly isn’t up to it? If that’s the case, it is time he stepped up to a microphone and let the American people find out for themselves.

Image:
ADVERTISEMENT

Opinion

View All

British schoolchildren more violent due to lockdown–causes developmental delays: BBC study

Nearly one in five teachers at schools across England reported being hit by a student in the past yea...

London features 'Happy Ramadan' lights throughout city over Easter weekend

The lights have drawn criticism from prominent conservatives who insisted that the council ought to s...

Polish foreign minister claims US was aware of Nord Stream pipeline attack but 'did not prevent it'

Radoslaw Sikorski suggested it was done by "someone who had a vested interest in it."...