Obama's Obfuscation

Per Wikipedia:

Obfuscation is the concealment of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, intentionally ambiguous, and more difficult to interpret.

I didn't watch Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress last night. I was in Las Vegas attending a best friend's wedding, which had to be on 9-9-09. As it turned out, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't have a chance to watch Obama's speech!

One of the things that drives me nuts about Obama's speeches are his selection and parsing of words. He has developed a mastery of using the English language to deflect, re-direct and mask his intent by very careful phrasing and word selection. He is a politician's dream. He is also a liar, which should come as no surprise to anyone that has listened to a career politician speak.

The office of the President of the United States, however, is a high honor. Traditionally, this high office has caused "politicians" to transcend their rhetorical embellishments and speak to a higher calling on behalf of their constituents. This has not been the case with Obama.

Obama is in constant campaign-mode. His speeches are designed to influence voters' opinion and not to lead. Although he won the election and was entrusted with the most powerful office in the world, we are continuously being subjected to a revised stump speech.

As of today, Rasmussen had this, one day after his Congressional speech:



One day earlier, the polling had the same result. Watch Rasmussen's polling tomorrow. It's bound to show a bounce from Obama's speech. After that wears off, he should return to double-digit negative numbers.

Unfortunately, Obama has transmorphed his campaign rhetoric into obfuscation. He is now paying the price in the polls. I pray that we, his constituents, don't have to pay a price as well. We expected much, much more from him than what he is delivering.