To avoid losing to a candidate who, is a good debater, but a poor campaigner, the President is pulling out all the stops in his desperate quest to hold on to power.  Of course, Barack Obama does not want to give up the tremendous perks associated with his office and the vast power he wields. Mostly, the man who likes to be adored does not want to suffer the indignity of losing.  

To avoid that fate, the dignity of his office is being sacrificed. While Ronald Reagan was President, he had so much respect for the White House, that he did not remove his jacket while working in the Oval Office. Today, we have a President who has displayed little respect for the position he was awarded by the American people.  

Instead of elevating the campaign, he is denigrating it by appealing to the worst instincts of the American people. In recent weeks, the President has appeared on late night comedy shows, daytime shows, and was even interviewed on hip hop radio programs like “DJ Pimp with a Limp” and “The Yo Show.” On these programs, he discussed his extensive knowledge of rap stars and hip hop music and bragged that he listens to these artists on his I-pod.  

It is clear that President Obama is more interested in being a celebrity than in being a leader. His wife has the same interest and has been all over the airwaves, making frequent guest appearances on networks such as Nickelodeon and MTV. In recent weeks, the First Couple has been interviewed by Entertainment Tonight and other celebrity oriented programs. In contrast, the President has not held a formal news conference since August 20, when he answered only four questions from the attention-starved media. 

This record demonstrates that Barack Obama is not interested in answering questions; he is more interested in giving orders, all the while basking in the glow of his adoring fans.  

Like every good celebrity, the President wants to maintain his “cool” reputation. Thus, he spends plenty of time with rap stars like Jay-Z and Beyonce and movie stars like George Clooney. To maintain his credibility with this crowd of airheads, the President let loose with some rather undignified comments in a recent Rolling Stone interview. Amazingly, our nation’s leader used language not allowed on our nation’s television networks. He called his opponent, Mitt Romney, a “bull…er.” 

To complete the downgrade of his re-election campaign, the President’s team unveiled a new commercial this week featuring actress Lena Dunham. She compared voting to Obama to losing her virginity. In the ad, Ms. Dunham advises voters that “Your first time shouldn’t be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy.” After implying she was discussing sex, Ms. Dunham concluded the ad with a pitch to vote for President Obama. Obviously, this controversial approach is not popular with many Americans. Columnist Joshua Delano of the Bayou Perspective website noted that, “As a father I find this particular disgusting and would not want my daughter anywhere near Obama.  I'm guessing this is the initial response that fathers have across the country who are blessed to have a daughter as I am.” 

The Obama re-election campaign is not exactly a replica of Ronald Reagan’s 1984 re-election campaign. In that year, Reagan ran on the theme “It’s morning again in America.” Instead of that type of uplifting message, Barack Obama is appealing to sex, profanity, and making a crude attempt to engage in class warfare against his opponent.  

It is a depressing campaign for a depressing period in our country’s history. The American people deserve better than this type of treatment and should demand better behavior from their President.  

On November 6, they will have an opportunity to make that demand a reality.

--
Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m.weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .