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Not Obama Is Not Enough - Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The contrast could not be more extreme: a loud, pushy, anti-intellectual President Donald Trump versus a soft-spoken, recessive, philosophical former president, Barack Obama. The difference has become especially glaring in recent days, with Trump repeatedly breaking the tradition of a new president refraining from dissing his predecessor.
Trump has, in fact, gone out of his way to attack Obama, as in his recent nonsensical reversal wherein he attacked Obama for his lack of response to Russian meddling in the 2016 election: Obama did NOTHING, Trump tweeted. He went on to accuse Obama of colluding with the Russians!
By now the world is familiar with this Trump ploy: He engages in unscrupulous business deals, so he labels Hillary Clinton Crooked Hillary. He lies, so he calls Ted Cruz Lyin Ted. On and on. Anyone who calls him out on any failure gets the same accusation hurled back in his or her face, and to a shocking extent this trick works. Or it works with Trump supporters, who dont seem to care if he wrecks their health care, allows factories to poison their water, or provides massive tax cuts for the rich people they admire so much. This is making America great again.
The truth is, Obama confronted Putin directly about intervening in our political system and put in place sanctions, though he clearly didnt do enough. I feel like we sort of choked, one former colleague of Obama has said, according to an article in the Washington Post. This is too bad, as the Russians pulled off the crime of the century, possibly derailing Clinton, a tough critic of Russia. Today we have an incompetent President who (for reasons we might discover soon enough) appears unwilling to oppose the Russian regime.
Obamas weak responses to Trump have been troubling. I dont know why he didnt simply open the intelligence files on Putin to the American public, saying: My God, look what the Russians are trying to do! Put up your guard! There can be no sound reason for not alerting the people of this country to a major attack on their most cherished right, the right to vote.
Im also unhappy about Obamas response to Trumpcare. His language was strong enough:
The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill, he wrote in a Facebook post, blasting the Republican legislation that seeks to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He calls the proposed Republican plan a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America.
That is exactly what he should have said, but why is he only saying it in a Facebook post rather than in remarks to the press or in speeches.
Again and again, Trump strikes and Obama turns the other cheek. Whats going on here?
There is a longstanding Christian tradition of turning the other cheek, and thats usually the best approach to abuse. But one should remember that Jesus also turned over the tables of merchants and moneychangers in Herods Temple in Jerusalem. He accused them of transforming the holiest site in Judaism into a den of thieves. (Mark 11:17) I wonder if the analogy here, with Trump and his cohorts, isnt more apt than we think.
A friend of mine recently suggested that Obama was, at heart, a quietist. This is a mystical tradition that involves a quieting of the conscious mind, a withdrawal into the deepest layers of self, even self-annihilation. Political quietism involves stepping back from the activities of the world to focus on religious truth, and it condemns self-aggrandizement and the naked reach for power. It rejects the quest for wealth
But quietism seems misguided in this context. Political life is where we create a community. What is government but our community made visible? If we are to create a community that takes pride in how it cares for its own, one that promotes decent values, such as humility and tolerance and the wish to share, we have no choice but to step forward, to declare ourselves and speak up for our values.
Obama needs to find his voice now in ways that, during his time in the Oval Office, he was too often reluctant to do, perhaps fearing the immense power of the bully pulpit
But now there is a real bully in the pulpit, and Obama like the rest of us has no choice but to speak, and to act.
My hope for Obama is that, in his post-presidency, he steps forward boldly to say whatever feels true in his mind. And he must do so in the most public ways. I would urge him to speak up, not indirectly on Facebook, but to declare himself more publicly and without reservation, revealing his ideas, his passions. There may be some fatal flaw here, of course, one that disallows a full-throated singing of his song. But I hope it isnt so.
Jay Parini, a poet and novelist, teaches at Middlebury College in Vermont. His latest book is New and Collected Poems, 1975-2015. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
Jay Parini, a poet and novelist, teaches at Middlebury College in Vermont. His latest book is New and Collected Poems, 1975-2015. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
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Obama can't keep turning the other cheek with Trump - The Philadelphia Tribune
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Nearly a decade after Barack Obama snuffed out America's beacon of freedom to the world, President Trump has relighted the hopeful flame.
At nearly this exact point in Mr. Obamas presidency, he launched his famous apology tour, traveling the globe seeking forgiveness for all Americas transgressions.
Warmongering, torture and slavery had become the ugly birthmarks of America. In Mr. Obamas eyes, anyway.
That was before Mr. Obama went on to become the first president in history to wage war with every heartbeat of his presidency. Or the rise and spread of ISIS, which plumbed new depths of depravity in torturing innocents. Or the explosion of slavery, rape and human trafficking from South and Central America spawned by Mr. Obamas heartless open-orders policies.
He traveled to Egypt with unrivaled credibility as the son of a Muslim to beckon the Muslim world into modernity? To teach the radical notions of free speech, self-governance and religious freedom? Instead, he apologized for Americas role in creating the internet, with its twisted view of sexuality and mindless violence.
Really? You have women living as covered servants and gays thrown off rooftops and Americas president apologized for the internet?
He also claimed it was part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.
Seriously? Can you believe that huckster peddled himself as a constitutional scholar? No wonder he suffered so many unanimous beat-downs by the Supreme Court during his presidency.
The problem with Barack Obama other than having never actually read the Constitution is that he never understood the radical notion of self-governance upon which America was founded. He views government as a great force of paternal benevolence.
It is why he gave us government-run Obamacare, which is just a fancy, self-idolizing term for socialized medicine and rationed health care. Most Orwellian of all, Mr. Obama named it the Affordable Care Act.
Well, sir, if it is so affordable, why does the federal government have to mandate everyone buy it?
Maybe if you shut up long enough and listened to the great people of Poland and other Eastern European countries for which you had such disdain, they would have happily explained it to you.
Socialism didnt work there, and it will not work here.
Mr. Obama is gone now, and his legacy is being systematically dismantled by Mr. Trump.
Among Mr. Trumps earliest initiatives was undoing the Obama Doctrine of apology and appeasement.
Mr. Obamas commitment to Defeat without Peace and America Last have been replaced by an era of American Exceptionalism. America's Beacon of Hope shines brightly once again.
In Warsaw, Mr. Trump celebrated our warm friendship with the soul of Europe.
You stood in solidarity against oppression, against a lawless secret police, against a cruel and wicked system that impoverished your cities and your souls, he said. And you won. Poland prevailed. Poland will always prevail.
And this gem, which certainly went right over Mr. Obamas head, but may as well have been aimed directly at the heart of Obamacare: The West became great not because of paperwork and regulations but because people were allowed to chase their dreams and pursue their destinies.
Mr. Trumps entire powerful and elegant speech reminded me of so many thrilling lines from Casablanca. In particular, this one near the end of the film when Victor Laszlo turns to Rick after getting the letters of transit and says: Welcome back to the fight. This time I know our side will win.
Charles Hurt can be reached at churt@washingtontimes.com and on Twitter by @charleshurt.
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Making no apologies, President Trump replaces Obama Doctrine with American Exceptionalism - Washington Times
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
No entity in America provides more money to colleges than the U.S. Department of Education. More than $120 billion in loans and grants annually flowto students, who then pass that money on to colleges to pay for things like tuition, housing, and books.
What you may not know is that colleges generally keep the money regardless of whether astudentgraduates, or even if they claim the school misled them.
Last year, the Obama administration tried to change that. Federal officials drafted new rules that would give the government greater authority to demand that financially troubled colleges put up collateral in case the government had to forgo repayment of a loan because a college defrauded a student or unexpectedly shut down. U.S. officials also sought to bancollegesmany of them for-profitsfrom mandating that aggrieved students use secretive arbitrationinstead of going to court, on the theory that itd be easier for regulators to spot wrongdoing and students would be at less of a disadvantage. That rule, put in place by the Obama administration, was set to take effect this year during the Trump administration.
A group of California-based for-profit colleges suedto prevent the measurefrom going into effect July 1, arguing it would be disastrous given the future litigation costs. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos agreed, and last month blocked what she called a muddled rulefrom taking effect. Instead, she said, shed rewrite it.
Meanwhile, former students who wish to sue their schools remain bound by the arbitration agreements they signed. On Thursday, a group of 19 state attorneys general, all Democrats, and two former for-profit college students sued DeVos to reverse her decision. The students said in court filings that they had been planning to file a lawsuit against their school, given the rule change.
Since day one, Secretary DeVos has sided with for-profit school executives against students and families drowning in unaffordable student loans, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. DeVoss decision was a betrayal of her offices responsibility.
Elizabeth Hill, aDeVos spokeswoman, called the lawsuit by 19 top state law enforcement officersideologically driven and said that the California schools lawsuit, whichDeVos cited inhalting Obamas reforms, made serious and credibleallegations that the previous administration exceeded its authority.
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The lawsuit by the attorneys general represents the latest effort by states to police an Education Department they view as beholden to colleges and lenders. During her few months in office, DeVos has rolled back Obama-era efforts to require loan firmstohelpstudent debtors manage or discharge their loans rather than maximize the amount they pay; reversed another provision that limited loan companies from charging certain fees; and delayed rules meant to deter college misconduct and cut off federal money to colleges that bury students under unaffordable debt.
The DeVos-led Education Department says Obamas efforts were misguided and ultimately wouldnt be effective. Her decision to reverse the moves by the previous Democratic administration also reflect her view that households and markets, rather than government agencies, are better positioned to police the higher education sector.
Government really sucks, DeVos said in a 2015 speech.
Prosecutors from states such as Illinois, North Carolina, and New York have criticized DeVos at every turn by arguing shes putting students and taxpayers at risk. Thursdays lawsuit may signalthat Democratic attorneys general are likely to intensify theirchallenges toDeVos, especially if they think public opinion is on their side.
Were going to keep a close eye on this industry, Healey said.
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States Line Up Against DeVos to Save Obama's College Rules - Bloomberg
Cirque du Soleil has acquired Blue Man Group, combining two of North America's more popular live entertainment brands. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which results in Blue Man's founders retaining some equity.
Sponsor swap: Cirque du Soleil has been majority-owned by private equity firm TPG Capital since July 2015, while Blue Man sold a minority stake to GF Capital in 2010.
What's the plan? TPG's investment thesis on Cirque is around the concept of programming real estate, whether that be at a casino, on a cruise ship or at a mall (yes, you'll eventually see live Cirque programming between Banana Republic and Orange Julius). Blue Man gets folded into that, even though the two brands will remain separate from a creative perspective. Also expect Cirque to help Blue Man expand more internationally, particularly in China.
Next performance: Expect Cirque to pursue additional acquisition opportunities, both for franchises like Blue Man and possibly for long-running single-city shows.
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How Clinton, Bush and Obama handled their first Putin meetings - Axios