“I should have told better lies.” Joseph Farah on Obama’s illuminating answer to a question about the biggest mistake of his first term:
“The mistake of my first term . . . was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right,” he said. “And that’s important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times.”
What’s so hilarious about this answer is it’s Bart Simpson-like juvenile appeal: Imagine Bart up to his neck in some kind of mischief. He gets caught. The principal of his school asks him if he has any regrets. He responds, “Yeah, I wish I had a better story to tell. I wish I could talk my way out of this.”
I would say the biggest mistake of Obama’s first term wasn’t his failure to present better fairy tales to the American public. That’s not even in the top ten. But number one was failing to endorse Ron Paul’s attempt to audit the Federal Reserve. A close second would be his nomination of Ben Bernanke to continue as Federal Reserve chairman. Concerns about policy and the popularity of the White House policies are considerably less important than having absolutely no idea if the information upon which those policies are based even has any basis in reality.