Here’s a letter to the editor which appeared in the Petoskey News-Review in response to my assertion that in the absence of any tangible complaint about President Obama regarding his conduct or his policies, a person might have to consider race as a reason for their disdain for our mixed race President. Whenever race comes up in a discussion, most people are quick to point out that they aren’t racist, and then proceed to say something racist. Keep in mind that at no time did I suggest that all or even most of the President’s opponents had a race issue. I only suggested that when they couldn’t articulate any other reason, they might want to think about race as a factor.
Along comes John Jay of Petoskey. If you were named John Jay, one would think you would have an obligation to hold yourself to some high standards when it came to politics and rhetoric. The original John Jay was an early Supreme Court Justice, a governor of New York, and a very early opponent of slavery. But John Jay of Petoskey has given the bird (couldn’t resist) to things like logic, argument, and the truth.
Jay’s words appear in italics and my response to each section is below.
Mark Pontoni is obviously a biased zealot who feels free to overrule the Supreme Court, play the race card with no evidential support, and blame the Tea Party for everything. Where’s the balance? I’d like to add a few missing observations relevant to the president’s personal report card.
Such power I wish I had! I can overrule the Supreme Court! (rubbing my hands together) Let’s start with Bush v Gore. Think of all the lives I could have saved and the shame I could have prevented our country from suffering!
As for blaming the Tea Party for everything, I suspect that’s just hyperbole from Mr. Jay. I never blamed the Tea Party for Prince Fielder’s batting slump, for example.
Then comes Mr. Jay’s list of things that I apparently left off the President’s report card. I’m not sure how to break this news to Mr. Jay and his fellow travellers, but the truth is not going to be kind to you.
Obama promised to get the budget under control, but never presented a real budget and instead, doubled the national debt.
In fact, the President has presented a budget every year he has been in office. Granted, the House has had some trouble passing one, but it’s pretty easy to find all of the President’s budget proposals online. While debt has certainly increased during the Obama administration, it has not doubled. Factcheck.org documents a 45% increase. A lot, but not double. And most economists attribute the growth in debt to the President’s unwillingness to reverse the Bush tax cuts as he promised in his 2008 campaign and the President’s inability to extricate ourselves from the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles.
He promised the world a brighter future led by a more enlightened U.S. government, yet every hot spot identified in 2008 is more dangerous now than when he was elected. Even our allies are worried about his incoherent foreign policy.
This would be a real problem if… it was true. Well, maybe it is true, but how are we to know? This is simply Mr. Jay’s opinion. I think most of our allies are quite pleased with the President’s handling of the Syrian threat, but all I have to go on are their words. I don’t have access to their inner thoughts like Mr. Jay apparently does.
He promised the Muslim world a fresh start but has succeeded in fanning intense hatred toward America throughout the Middle East.
Mr. Jay speaks for Muslims throughout the Middle East? He is far more connected than he lets on. Again, this is just opinion and really hard to assess since Muslims are a pretty diverse people. Do some Muslims hate America? Of course. Did Obama increase this hatred? Pretty hard to know. (unless your John Jay)
He promised a more transparent administration, but rammed through a health care program so fast that almost no one knew what was in it when it became law. He promised that you could keep your current plan unchanged if you wanted, but that was a deliberate untruth. He promised to put legislation on the Internet for review before approval and didn’t.
This is, of course, Mr. Jay’s biggest lie; one that is passed around the internet and the airwaves as if we’re expected to believe it. The ACA was years in the making and resulted from countless negotiations and compromises among the administration, the GOP, and the conservative Democrats. You can read a study of it here. Will this stop Mr. Jay and his ilk from repeating the lie? I think we know the answer.
He promised less stealth and then quietly expanded the undisciplined monitoring of ordinary Americans and our friends abroad.
If Mr. Jay had bothered to read my article for content, he would see we share this criticism of the President.
He promised consensus and then unilaterally went hard left.
There’s not a real liberal worth their salt that would agree that the President has turned hard left. Mr. Obama has done what every modern president before him has done. He has drifted to the middle.
None of this really has anything to do with the Supreme Court, color, or the tea party.
Obama is a brilliant mesmerizing speaker. Unfortunately, you have to judge him by what he does (or doesn’t do), not what he says.
I’d throw out all those self serving hypocritical idiots now in Washington, starting at the top — both parties.
The country needs a president from the middle who can lead.
Ah, the wonder of nuance. Don’t you just love reading a sophisticated analysis of our nation’s problems?
The Grumblings 
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