Guest Editorial

BY TOM TOTH | DECEMBER 31, 2013

The Oval Office hits a new low

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TOM TOTHPresident Barack Obama's words have pulled the United States executive office to a new low.

This week, Obama's poll numbers tumbled to the lowest point for an American president at this stage of his administration since (post-Watergate) Richard Nixon. Barely a year after besting Mitt Romney for a second term in office, "lame duck" fails to describe an Obama who has stumbled from exemplar of hope and change to below even just another politician willing to say anything politically expedient for himself.

Barack Obama, at the height of his popularity and trust from the American people, looked into the eyes of Americans and predicated the cornerstone of his presidency's agenda on the personal guarantee that "if you like your healthcare plan and you like your doctor, you can keep [them]."

As it's turned out, only months after reelecting him in spite of his unpopular keynote law, daily-increasing millions of Americans are losing health insurance and access to their personal physicians solely because of the so-titled "Affordable Care Act."

Now, in only the first year of his second term, the President – who once represented progress and principled leadership to so many – is now the very face of American political dishonesty. Popular fact-checking website Politifact designated his "if you like your healthcare plan …" promise as the "2013 Lie of the Year." The Washington Post's fact-checking page attributed three of the year's top 10 lies (or "Pinnochios") to Obama – the only person on the list to be designated with more than one.

Simply put, the leader of the free world is, by even the standards of America's far-left news media, the world's most famous liar.

Of course, he's far from the first president to sully the office with his words and actions. Richard Nixon cheated on a campaign, compromised the Oval Office by obstructing justice, and then proceeded to lie about it before his resignation. Bill Clinton cheated – we'll leave further explanation to itself, compromised the honor of the Oval Office, and proceeded to lie about it before Congress voted for his impeachment.

Barack Obama cheated the American people with false guarantees regarding his defining law. The subsequent loss of trust in the President's word compromised the integrity of the Oval Office. By not owning up to his false rhetoric, the lie continues today.

The difference? Obama's lie is more than a scandalous headline – Americans were personally affected by believing his lie. Further, one could speculate that he wouldn't even occupy the office if not for the persistent regurgitation of his lie, before and after the law was signed.
There is no political victory to be found in the President's now-established reputation. The President of the United States has shamed the nation by tainting, perhaps forever, the image of the world's most powerful and prestigious democratically-elected position as America's Commander-in-Chief.

At least this generation – at great cost – may now understand the value of honor and integrity in selecting their elected officials. If it makes any future difference is anyone's guess. Elections are a direct reflection of who Americans are collectively and the people will ultimately end up with the government they choose for themselves. If Obama is the standard of American political greatness, perhaps it is time for the nation to abandon the status quo.

Until the American people again cast ballots in 2014 and 2016 for whom they choose as representatives, these of Obama's own words ring true: "If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost."

Hopefully not all.

Tom Toth is the social media director and contributing editor for Americans for Limited Government.