Customer Service

When you were an educator, I imagine you had little empathy for
students to whom you gave an F.
You are on track to get an F grade as President.

One of your early messages was that the best antidote to the big
government/small government debate was smart government.
You have failed to demonstrate smart government.
A characteristic of successful companies is good management. The route to smart government is good management.  Management – the art of getting things done through people.

You are not getting trusted feedback about negative staff performance to foster good management and thence smart government.
I have constantly told you, that part of the job of Chief of Staff is to measure staff performance to make sure they are up to standard and enforce policies.
The churning of Chief of Staffs has resulted in failure to protect your back.
The current distraction issues could be mitigated by enforcing a high
performance standard.
I have been critical of Axelrod, Emanuel, Geithner and Holder.
You are paying for their failings

The Federal Reserve has been force to resort to Quantitative Easing because of the absence of Fiscal Policy.  You have demonstrated that you haven’t learned enough economics to understand this.

You have not learned to deftly exercise the levers of power.
Desperate times call for desperate measures
  Hire the best lobbyists Government can afford.
  Resort to bribery, use stealth earmarks.
  Build an insurgency department to marshal Congress to get things done.
  Look, you have a winning election team.
  Use this team find the votes for each bill.  It must be multi-dimensional, building specific coalitions for each bill, gender, age, geographic, economic, race.  Whatever it takes, get something done.

You are out of touch.
Americans are a proud people who like to carry their heads high.
You are oblivious of so many who are frustrated, forced to be humble and meek.
You don’t know the price of a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. You only know statistics.  Don’t believe inflation is less than 1%, ask why has the price of a loaf of bread and gallon of milk tripled since you entered office. I speak from my experience. When your advisor gives you the answer (they will likely say it’s just not so.) challenge him/her.  You are too used to being spoon fed.  People in your circles don’t care about the price of a loaf of bread or gallon of milk.

Enough rhetoric, let’s see some small deeds that provide hope.  You have spent more time electioneering (the 2010 mid-terms, the 2012 Presidential) than Presidential Executive matters.  Enough, you have no business meddling with the 2014 mid-terms.

Your rolodex for new staff is now depleted.  Check with Hillary Clinton, ask her to be a consultant. Use her problem solving skills to clean house and tap into her rolodex. I suggested a long time ago to
switch her with Biden.  You don’t know how to get things done through people.

I have told you before.  I work with Hispanics, Filipinos and Blacks. Only the Blacks whine and complain because it is part of their culture.  The rest of us resent them.  Nothing worse than a Black’s whining and bitching.  Deal with it!

Follow the new Pope’s example, strive to serve the people.

Unlike an arrogant academic dishing out an F, I feel the country suffers that you are heading for an F.  I’m surprised the downtrodden are rioting in Sweden.  I felt the 99% solidarity with the Occupy
Movement.  I still feel the rumbling that riots could erupt in your remaining 3 years. As big government is further tarnished, just ask Emanuel about the 5% in Chicago that perpetuate anarchy.

I told you so.

April 1st, 2013

The Senate has initiated procedures to impeach President Obama.
There is evidence that he had contacted Roman Catholic Supreme Court
Justices, to use their influence to get him elected Pope. Apparently
Obama’s ambitions were not only to be the first black President but
the first black Pope.
When told, Popes must be Roman Catholic, Obama said “Just like
Presidents were supposed to be born in America.”
Obama saw the move to Pope as the best way to address climate change,
tax reform and raising taxes.  He said, with lips perched, he’d leave
fairness of wealth distribution, the national debt and world peace to
Hillary.  Clinton responded that she had no intentions to be Pope as
she discourages Bill from attending Berlusconi’s  bunga bunga parties.
Obama’s experience qualified him because he is
  head of a dysfunctional hierarchy,
  a speaker to audiences who nod off,
  living a lavish lifestyle while failing to help to the downtrodden.
Pundits view Obama’s move to Pope as the Democrat strategy to cement
the Latino vote.
His election team pulled out a miracle in 2012 and he believes they
could elect him to anything.
Chief of Staff Denis McDonough  said “Electoral College, College of
Cardinals – it’s old school, we can count.”
Italians attribute Obama’s bid for Pope, on the American fetish for
hats.  Unnamed sources mention that Obama replaced Emanuel with
McDonough, a Catholic, because Emnaual could only offer a kippah
whereas McDonough’s connections could offer a massive crown.
Bookies were taking bets whether Obama would install a basketball
court or a driving range in St Peter’s Square.
In a bipartisan move, the White House flew Clint Eastwood to Rome to
perform the “empty chair” pitch but he lacked the credentials to be a
delegate.
In another attempt to reach out to Republicans, Obama invited Dick
Cheney to Camp David to learn how to swing around and shoot a hunting
companion.  Obama will be wearing a bullet proof vest.  He plans to
invite Republican Congressmen on hunting trips in May.  Many
Republicans have already declined after Homeland Security conceded
that the hunting grounds were under drone surveillance.
As his book sales decline, Obama has intensified negotiations with
Camel cigarettes to pose for commercials.  He has considered placing
his Nobel Peace Prize on eBay. The Obama’s are concerned about the
cost of University enrollment for their daughters.
There is growing concern among White House staff, on Obama’s
insistence to include Colorado and Washington State stopovers. The
Secret Service maintains a list of acceptable smoke shops when Obama
touches down.  Advance Secret Service agents now appear less
interested in checking out brothels and have taken deep breaths to
check out smoke shops.
Obama sought the names of the planners of extravagant parties, paid
for, on GSA expense accounts in 2010.  He wanted them to plan a
golfing vacation in Florida just before sequestration kicked in.
The bipartisan group, Dog Owners of America, is petitioning for a
constitutional amendment ensuring that Presidents be responsible dog
owners.  They reproach G. W. Bush for dropping his dog on its head.
They reproach the Obama’s for not making it a family commitment to
walk their dog.
Obama recently invited historians for a meeting to make sure they
portray him more like Lincoln than G. W. Bush.
He cites the Affordable Healthcare Act as Lincoln-esque.
There are counterpoints.
Keeping detainees at Guantanamo, just like G. W. Bush.
Weakening the Justice Department, just like G. W. Bush– no charges
against those responsible for the 2006 financial crisis and no
anti-trust charges against the too big to fail banks.
Nominating Austan Goolsbee was like G. W. Bush nominating Harriet
Miers to the Supreme Court.
Keeping Geithner was like G. W. Bush keeping Rumsfeld.
Obama is being prodded by T. Geithner to name him head of the World
Bank, just as G. W. Bush forced Paul Wolfowitz’s appointment. The IRS
has already warned Geithner to declare his income for tax purposes
when appointed. S. Bair, B. Born, E. Warren and C. Romer spearhead a
movement to stop Geithner’s appointment as he has a record for firing
women.
In response to the Tea Party, a Democratic Party faction has been
created called True Blue.  Their mandate is that America cannot fail
to provide for the necessities of life for young and old Americans.
The price of a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk has tripled since
Obama took Office.
There are 43 million Americans on foodstamps.
We are not better off than we were 5 years ago.
Tuition costs for university are too high and not worth it.
We want justice for the innocent homeowners whose homes were
foreclosed because of the unconscionable acts of the bankers of Wall
Street who were never prosecuted.
We want legislation that forces any car with a driver and one
passenger to have to pick up a hitchhiker.
They picket gated communities chanting “Mr. Obama, tear down this wall.”
They seek a return to the good old days when drivers left their car
key in the ignition and families left the doors to their homes,
unlocked.
No one in America should be so poor to have to steal.

My Point of View - Consolidated

Dear President Obama

How you can improve for the second term.
Foremost is working on personnel management skills because results
come from the work of your people.

I maintain that wisdom, emphathy, team player attitude and instinctive
feel for the levers of power are what is needed.

Wisdom is more than intelligence.  Wise people are able to solve local
problems in a way that contributes to the big picture.  So after
several years the big picture has improved.  They are always mindful
of the big picture yet have problem solving skills (define the
problem, suspend blame mentality and brainstorm for a solution ) to
address the issue at hand.  They visualize the best possible blue sky
big picture.  The best examples are H. Clinton and R. Gates.  The most
deficient is T. Geithner, for whom every problem is local. How do you
recover the people’s money that went to executive bonuses when you
freely gave the money away in the first place?

Ratings 0 lowest, 5 highest
                                     H.
               H. Clinton   V. Jarrett  D. Plouffe
Wisdom           5             3               5

Empathy          5             0               5                                          
Team player     5             0               5                                             
Feel for levers 

of power          5             2                4                       

Total             20             5               19                                           

Looks to me like H. Clinton scores as better advisor.

Worth repeating  - My point of view.

The election was close because you have a bad record.  Your record is
bad because you didn’t build a focused economic team.  I couldn’t
predict that your initial team would disintegrate.  But I saw it and
told you, you didn’t do anything about it.  I did tell you I thought
Bill Clinton knew more about economics than you, but he showed he
didn’t know enough by supporting the extension of the Bush tax cuts in
2010.  He promised millions of jobs by stimulating a green
retro-fitting industry… not so much.  No one is a know it all, not even
me. You must have team work on the economy, look what you, H. Clinton
and R. Gates did as a team in foreign affairs.

Your initial economic team didn’t know how to pull the strings of
power.  In recent public appearances, Goulsbee still thinks government
is powerless.  Leadership is not blaming Congress, real leadership is
figuring out the strings of power where there is no user's manual.
Your election team won by writing their own playbook. Economics,
indeed government, runs by people who make up the playbook.  It seems
to me A. Greenspan and L. Summers know how to write the playbook, they
know the strings of power.  I would think you should ask the two for
their advice when going over your short list of people for Treasury,
Commerce and the White House.

You were able to prod the military into actions, it initially didn’t
offer as options, because you drew ideas from the backrow of advisors.
You weren’t so lucky in the economic domain. I wrongly predicted that
the Occupy movement would produce Watts riots. I feel the sense of
social injustice is palpable and you are right to focus government
policy to help the middle class.  There is no backrow of government to
prod to initiate this.  I think making a cabinet position for H.
Clinton called Intra-governmental Affairs to address these issues is
what is needed, a front row person who is wise, empathetic and knows
the strings of power.  She is passionate about this.

You are a slow learner.

You repeat mistakes from the first term. You seem to ram through the
fiscal cliff bill, to start the second term, the same way you rammed through the
stimulus bill in the first term, which builds resentment for rest of
the term. People have feelings, they don’t like to be bullied.

You don’t mind the store.

Bill Gates said that the Affordable Healthcare Act lacks cost
controls. Bill Gates gives away a lot of money.  When he gives away
money, he tries his best to assure himself that it will be well spent,
by careful decision making at the outset.  He addresses his concern
for the risk of financial abuse.  His public comment decries your
failure to design up front controls when dealing with the expenditure
of such large sums of money.

You just pour money into Universities with no strings attached in the
belief that, that  is all that is needed.  You don’t realize that
Universities squander the money by paying themselves exorbitant
salaries, guaranteeing themselves salaries for life (tenure) and
pampering themselves with year long vacations (sabbaticals).
Education is not about ransoming the people for knowledge!

Geithner poured money into the too big to fail financial institutions
with no strings attached.  These institutions siphoned off the money
to pay themselves bonuses.

You fail America as coach, general manager and owner.

The starting line-up for your economic team was Orzag, Romer,
Summers, Goolsbee, Jarrett and Geithner. Orzag didn’t last training
camp.  There was so much dissent among the remaining members, that
they all went in their separate directions.  Summers, Jarrett and
Geithner were not team players to begin with. It was sad to see Romer,
Summers and Geithner state disparate economic policy in public. It was
clear they could not agree amongst themselves on the message. In stark
contrast, you, Gates and Clinton would amplify the message because you
worked as a team.

You can sign, L. James. D. Wade and C. Bosh or K. Bryant, D. Howard
and S. Nash but you don’t automatically win.  K. Garnett, R. Allen and
P. Pierce clicked right away because management anticipated the nature
of team chemistry and coaching provided the appropriate game plan.
You failed to anticipate the dysfunctional team chemistry of your
hand-picked players and had an inept player draw up the game plan,
look at the housing plan of March 2009.

You lacked the skills to intervene when personality clashes adversely
interfere with dealing with the economy, such as between Summers and
Jarrett, Geithner and S. Bair, Geithner and E. Warren.  While Summers
is confrontational, he cares about everyday Americans and knows how to
write the economic playbook. Jarrett cares more about protecting your
back, witness R. Gibbs, Shirley Sherrod and has no record of
compassion for downtrodden Americans. Even from the sidelines, Summers
has cried out that it is more important to fuel the economy than to
invoke austerity for deficit reduction.  Why has no one in the White
House said this? You shouldn’t have allowed Jarrett to frustrate
Summers so much to force him to leave. Step in and maintain order,
show some authority.  You can’t lose good people, S. Bair, E. Warren,
C. Romer and L. Summers, these are all stars.  You are a loser for
letting them slip through your fingers.

You fail management 101

Presidents must make sure that the mundane administrative work of
government gets done.  In Reagan’s parlance - trust but verify.  You
need to delegate someone reporting to the Chief of Staff, to verify
that work promised is completed as promised and tell you the truth
when things are not so.
Are there nominations for all vacancies in the lower courts?
Where are the task forces to charge the Wall Street thugs for wrong doings?
Where is the proposal, we were promised, for the fate of Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac?
Where are we on re-examing the too big to fail challenge?
Where is Volcker's tax reform package?
Guantanamo is to close in a year, are we on schedule?

The pre-screening process was such a failure in the first round of
vetting appointees re: IRS, nanny’s etc.  Mandate that all nominations
will breeze through the first round of vetting.  It was so pathetic to
waste time on people who weren’t properly vetted – you never recovered
from the failure to staff  trying to eliminate waste from government.
Geithner got off to a really bad start with his tax omission.

You cannot afford to have Miami Heat, LA Laker style problems with
your team members this time.  Wisdom, empathy, team player attitude
and instinctive feel for the levers of power are the criteria in
picking players for a winning team.

Happy New Year

My point of view part 2

 Dear President Obama

You are a slow learner.

You repeat mistakes from the first term. You ram through fiscal cliff
bill, to start the second term, the same way you rammed through the
stimulus bill in the first term, which builds resentment for rest of
the term. People have feelings, they don’t like to be bullied.

You don’t mind the store.

Bill Gates said that the Affordable Healthcare Act lacks cost
controls. Bill Gates gives away a lot of money.  When he gives away
money, he tries his best to assure himself that it will be well spent,
by careful decision making at the outset.  He addresses his concern
for the risk of financial abuse.  His public comment decries your
failure to design up front controls when dealing with the expenditure
of such large sums of money.

You just pour money into Universities with no strings attached in the
belief that, that  is all that is needed.  You don’t realize that
Universities squander the money by paying themselves exorbitant
salaries, guaranteeing themselves salaries for life (tenure) and
pampering themselves with year long vacations (sabbaticals).
Education is not about ransoming the people for knowledge!

Geithner poured money into the too big to fail financial institutions
with no strings attached.  These institutions siphoned off the money
to pay themselves bonuses.

You fail America as coach, general manager and owner.

Your starting line-up for your economic team was Orzag, Romer,
Summers, Goolsbee, Jarrett and Geithner. Orzag didn’t last training
camp.  There was so much dissent among the remaining members, that
they all went in their separate directions.  Summers, Jarrett and
Geithner were not team players to begin with. It was sad to see Romer,
Summers and Geithner state disparate economic policy in public. It was
clear they could not agree amongst themselves on the message. In stark
contrast, you, Gates and Clinton would amplify the message because you
worked as a team.

You can sign, L. James. D. Wade and C. Bosh or K. Bryant, D. Howard
and S. Nash but you don’t automatically win.  K. Garnett, R. Allen and
P. Pierce clicked right away because management anticipated the nature
of team chemistry and coaching provided the appropriate game plan.
You failed to anticipate the dysfunctional team chemistry of your
hand-picked players and had an inept player draw up the game plan,
look at the housing plan of March 2009.

You lacked the skills to intervene when personality clashes adversely
interfere with dealing with the economy, such as between Summers and
Jarrett, Geithner and S. Bair, Geithner and E. Warren.  While Summers
is confrontational, he cares about everyday Americans and knows how to
write the economic playbook. Jarrett cares more about protecting your
back, witness R. Gibbs, Shirley Sherrod and has no record of
compassion for downtrodden Americans. Even from the sidelines, Summers
has cried out that it is more important to fuel the economy than to
invoke austerity for deficit reduction.  Why has no one in the White
House said this? You shouldn’t have allowed Jarrett to frustrate
Summers so much to force him to leave. Step in and maintain order,
show some authority.  You can’t lose good people, S. Bair, E. Warren,
C. Romer and L. Summers, these are all stars.  You are a loser for
letting them slip through your fingers.

You fail management 101

Presidents must make sure that the mundane administrative work of
government gets done.  In Reagan’s parlance - trust but verify.  You
need to delegate someone reporting to the Chief of Staff, to verify
that work promised is completed as promised and tell you the truth
when things are not so.
Are there nominations for all vacancies in the lower courts?
Where are the task forces to charge the Wall Street thugs for wrong doings?
Where is the proposal, we were promised, for the fate of Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac?
Where are we on re-examing the too big to fail challenge?
Guantanamo is to close in a year, are we on schedule?

The pre-screening process was such a failure in the first round of
vetting appointees re: IRS, nanny’s etc.  Mandate that all nominations
will breeze through the first round of vetting.  It was so pathetic to
waste time on people who weren’t properly vetted – you never recovered
from the failure to staff  trying to eliminate waste from government.
Geithner got off to a really bad start with his tax omission.

You cannot afford to have Miami Heat, LA Laker style problems with
your team members this time.  Wisdom, empathy, team player attitude
and instinctive feel for the levers of power are the criteria in
picking players for a winning team.

Let’s go out and win the second half.

My point of view

 Dear President Obama

My point of view

The election was close because you have a bad record.  Your record is
bad because you didn’t build a focused economic team.  I couldn’t
predict that your initial team would disintegrate.  But I saw it and
told you, you didn’t do anything about it.  I did tell you I thought
Bill Clinton knew more about economics than you, but he showed he
didn’t know enough by supporting the extension of the Bush tax cuts in
2010.  He promised millions of jobs by stimulating a green
reto-fitting industry… not so much.  No one is a know it all, not even
me. You must have team work on the economy, look what you, H. Clinton
and R. Gates did as a team in foreign affairs.

Your initial economic team didn’t know how to pull the strings of
power.  In recent public appearances, Goulsbee still thinks government
is powerless.  Leadership is not blaming Congress, real leadership is
figuring out the strings of power where there is no user's manual.
Your election team won by writing their own playbook. Economics,
indeed government, runs by people who make up the playbook.  It seems
to me A. Greenspan and L. Summers know how to write the playbook, they
know the strings of power.  I would think you should ask the two for
their advice when going over your short list of people for Treasury,
Commerce and the White House.

You were able to prod the military into actions, it initially didn’t
offer as options, because you drew ideas from the backrow of advisors.
 You weren’t so lucky in the economic domain. I wrongly predicted that
the Occupy movement would produce Watts riots. I feel the sense of
social injustice is palpable and you are right to focus government
policy to help the middle class.  There is no backrow of government to
prod to initiate this.  I -think making a cabinet position for H.
Clinton called Intra-governmental Affairs to address these issues is
what is needed, a front row person who is wise, empathetic and knows
the strings of power.  She is passionate about this.

I have written you about the virtue of wisdom over intelligence.  I
value your criteria of empathy.  There as some in your current staff
who lack empathy.  S. Rice,  E. Holder, V. Jarrett and T. Geithner
appear strained, nervous in public and don’t appear sufficiently
comfortable in themselves to be empathetic to others.  Frankly, they
look pathetic in public.  I judge them by their public demeanor.  V.
Jarrett is tied to R. Gibb’s dismissal and strongly tied to Shirley
Shroud’s misfortune, clear examples of poor judgement.  Hint: select
people who are genuinely wise and empathetic.

One last item on entitlements.  I think instituting a means test, from
now on, would save money.  Seniors paying over $10,000 in Federal
taxes should pay for healthcare (or get charged a healthcare premium)
for the first $35,000 of services.  Medicare etc will pick up the
bills in excess of $35,000.  The $35,000 ceiling is an arbitrary
value, but hard to pin down because the pool of premiums from Seniors
will get used because there are few seniors who don’t claim anything.
This is better than having nothing to offer when trying to compromise.

Looking for the light switch - wisdom

To President Obama

 

I have read that you are very competitive.  In politics, it’s winner
takes all and winning is better than losing.  However, winning isn’t
everything. G. W. Bush won re-election but it was a hollow win.  I
feel the same way this time, Obama wins, but America is burdened with
his limitations.  Christie said Obama walks around in a dark room
looking for the light switch. The Republicans claim that Obama does
nothing for the next generation, his childrens’. This resonates with
me.

There is a difference between intelligence and wisdom.  I know wisdom
when I see it but can’t define it.  While you and your staff are
intelligent, I don’t sense wise decisions in economic matters.

Having admitted I can’t recognize wisdom, I believe it is unwise not
to reach out to critics who are allies.  I think time has validated
certain of their concerns and it would be wise to incorporate their
concerns for a better future.  Some smart Democrats have been shunned.
I think it is a fair to criticize the shortness of your Rolodex file
of people to consult.  There was an unreasonable delay in replacing
Goolsbee and his replacement seems stifled.  Moreover, you went for
inferior replacements of S. Bair, E. Warren and possibly L. Summers.
It seems you pick your basketball co-players and teams but for the
real world you don’t know how to pick an economic team..

I don’t know why you are so thinned skinned to shun people like Eliot
Spitzer, Robert Reich, James Galbraith and James Carville.  I wouldn’t
say they are wise men, but they have a public record to care about
everyday Americans. They mean well.  The same cannot be said about
you, V. Jarrett or T. Geithner.  The outsiders feel they have been
forced to go public to promote heart felt concerns knowing full well
the sentence of ostracization.

I think you should try to improve for a second term.  I think adapting
ideas from this selection of outsiders would be good.  I feel you are
a reasoned person and can find merit in this idea but I feel you don’t
want to be disloyal to your band of thin skinned advisors.
It is not living dangerously rather, living wisely.

My previous suggestion was to make H. Clinton head of your transition
team..  You have to admit she has a better Rolodex of people to call
upon than you.  It will be your legacy to have appointed such a
cabinet of losers, Geithner, Holder and non descript Chiefs of Staff.
Clinton was a winner, but she’s leaving and Gates was already in
place.  I fear Clinton is leaving for the same reason Romer and
Summers left, jump a sinking ship.

Wisdom is such an intangible, but I think you should up your game and
build a council of wise advisors and strive to act wisely which is a
step above making intelligent decisions.
Go beyond Geithner, as intelligent as he is, he lacked the wisdom to
keep in mind the big picture in the decisions he made and he failed to
apply his intelligence to find a voice to communicate effectively.
Volcker doesn’t have Geithner’s communication handicap and they deal
in the same subject. Look at the Clintons.  They have found their
voice and can transmit values through their communication.

Someone has to tell the President

I think you were wrong to side with Geithner instead of forcing compromise with Romer and Summers regarding the breakup of too big to fail banks.  Under Geithner they have only gotten bigger.  Geithner fails to anticipate the destination.  You failed to heed the warning signs when Volcker publicly criticized Geithner. Volcker used his own influence to get the Volcker rule despite Geithner.  That was a period where you believed you and Geithner knew better. You didn’t understand the need for competent advisors, who would have told you that a wise person doesn’t bet against Summers or Volcker.  I don’t think Goolsbee, Axelrod or Jarrett ever told you that.

It was a mistake not to force the Banks to write down mortgages by using Tarp money as carrot to offset the writedown, to salvage homeowners whose homes were underwater but could pay a mortgage reset to market value.   In March 2009, Geithner’s plan for the housing industry wouldn’t work on paper and time has proven it.  Instead of criticizing it, I spent my energies offering an alternative which I sent to you.  I tried to pass my plan to the Treasury department but all I got was a message telling me their mailbox was full. You failed to recognize the value of constructive criticism and drowned with Geithner’s gifts to Wall Street while so many everyday Americans suffered the consequences of homes under water.  You have tried two unsuccessful programs to help owners whose homes are underwater. Geithner was dismissive of the importance of the housing market.

You didn’t understand that Management is about making plans and executing them. So you failed to evaluate Geithner’s plan, especially compared to mine.  A bad plan ends with bad results.  You are not getting sound advice on the effectiveness of plans.

You failed to recognize the importance of the contributions of S. Bair and E. Warren.  These two exceptional women were doing huge good for everyday Americans.  I hope the Republicans spin this issue to show your government is against women.  There was no reason to push them out. It is my hope that they get the Eric Shinseki treatment and get to come back to government after being wronged.

You did not have competent personnel to deal with Congress and suffered humiliation as a result.  The most obvious was the Jobs bill of mid-2011 which became a total capitulation to the Republications.  What you signed was a Jobs bill in name only. More subtle was the failure to roll back the tax cuts to those earning over $250,000 in the fall of 2010.  It was another bad Geithner idea that cost you.

There has been mismanagement in the Office of the President.  Emanuel neglected the administrative duties of Chief of Staff and you shouldn’t go through 4 Chief’s of Staff in 3 years.  There is no impression that the Chief of Staff is an enforcer on people like Geithner and Holder to make them shape up.

 I am annoyed that for the past 2 years, Geithner repeats every 3 months that  he will announce a plan to deal with Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac.  We know Wm Daley was on the Board of Fannie Mae.  The New York Fed, under Geithner created the belief that housing only goes up. Tom Donilon, National Security Adviser, was at Fannie Mae. Tom Nides, at the State Department, was at Fannie Mae. Jim Johnson was the CEO of Fannie Mae, was on the selection committee for your vice presidential candidate and is currently on the board of Goldman Sachs and head of their compensation committee. You kick the can down the road.

I am surprised by your outbursts against the Supreme Court regarding Citizens United and their review of the Healthcare law.  It is so futile for the Executive Branch to tread on the Judicial Branch’s territory.  While you’re passing wind you fail to stack the lower Courts with Democratic appointments for 2 years. You are doing a poor job minding your business.

I am also surprised by your dismissive attitude towards Romney as if you never see your own failings when you look in the mirror.  I believe he affords you much more respect than you afford him.  It makes you the lesser person.  By extrapolation, you consider my concerns worthless.  Can you see that I feel Romney affords me more respect than you?  Maybe that’s why you have made things worse for me now compared to 4 years ago.  You don’t get it.

In the primaries, I was impressed with your counter-punch retorts.  There was a feeling that you knew better than you attacker.  After entering office, you have wilted under criticisms.  I have thrown many punches at you and have struck some technical knockouts. 

I am deeply disappointed in your lack of conviction to stand by your words.

You said:

- hope and change

- build an economy on solid foundations

- your administration would hit the ground running

- you would not run for re-election for sake of running

- eliminate waste from government

- immigration legislation by the end of the first year

- close Guantanamo in a year

Your failure to select the right people to deal with Congress has arrested hope or change.

There is little progress on building an economy on solid foundations.  I distinctly remember your first few weeks of office where you referred to it as “my economy.” The economy is so big and complex that you cannot claim personal stewardship and you failed to build a cohesive team to navigate the economy.

Your administration did not hit the ground running.  Government was on hold for several months until you and Biden worked out an Afghanistan policy because you weren’t happy with the Gates/Clinton plan.  Maybe history will show they were right.  Then it took a year to do Healthcare, a plan criticized by Bill Gates because of ineffective cost controls.  Holder hasn’t addressed the years of Bush destruction to his department and stumbles on day to day business. Clinton had to turn around a battered department as well as moving forward on policy.  That’s what I call hit the ground running. 

You said you would not run for re-election for sake of running.  Well, I’m worse off now than I was 4 years ago.  I’ve just listed my view of your record.  I can’t see what you would do differently for the next 4 years.  Ten years ago companies adopted a philosophy of continuous improvement.  You lack any sign of improving leadership.  There is no problem solving in dealing with Congress. You never talk about attacking the $85 billion agricultural subsidy.  You don’t attack reducing the cost of post secondary education or healthcare. 

The notion of eliminate waste from government has been made a farce by the GAO, the supposed enforcers.

I hope the Hispanics understand what to do when they hear immigration legislation by the end of the first year.  Just sitting on their hands will send a message.

My 82 year old neighbor is a very kind, gentle person who told me she didn’t think Obama was up for the job.