BHOXIT or BOTCHIT? The media pre-occupation with the Trump transition is to be expected. Yet, in making real and faux comparisons between the POTUS-Elect and previous transitions, what is becoming lost in media mush is the real manner in which Barack Hussein Obama leaves office.
What is emerging was not at all apparent from the outset. A well-circulated photo of West Wing staffers sporting looks of disgust and disdain at Trump’s arrival for a post-election visit gave a lie to their leader’s magnanimous words on Wednesday, November 9th.. Then, the president acknowledged the fact of the election, and expressed his desire to provide the Trump Administration the same, gracious transition George W. Bush provided his. Presidential, it was, and there it ended.
Since 2:41AM, when FoxNews declared Pennsylvania for Trump, and hence, his election to the presidency, several of the country’s major cities have been roiled by street tantrums of toddler-like Clinton supporters—many of whom had not voted. Without a further syllable of normalization from Obama, Clinton, or their minions, the cast of Hamilton felt it necessary to lecture Vice-president-Elect Pence on the new administration’s minority obligations. While many have simply vented their First Amendment rights, others have beaten presumed Trump voters, burned cars, and vandalized the streets of their cities—all because they didn’t get what Clinton and the media presumed to have been their entitlement.
Obama himself must have had second thoughts about a gracious exit. On at least two occasions during his most recent foreign trip, he reminded listeners “the Democratic nominee” received a larger popular vote, and he urged protesters “not to remain silent.” Media slaves to the progressive line have pumped the narrative that it is Donald Trump’s responsibility to calm the embroiled brats. Were his supporters responsible for the civil mayhem, his obligation would be paramount, but since these are, literally, children of the left, the rest of the nation, anxious to move on to a treasured civility, must urge a president concerned for his legacy “not to remain silent.” So much for healing the wounds of the nation.
What wounds? They are, of course, the wounds of racial, class, and gender division sown by the very administration now pretending to make a gracious BHOXIT. It may be, however, that the president’s promise for a gracious transition extended only to the physicality of the Oval Office itself. As for the country, will he let it crumble and let the media blame it on his successor? For a man who has avoided blame of any kind during his entire tenure, we need not have to guess the answer.
Further proof of that premise is the announced intent of President Obama to remain in the capital, ostensibly to allow one of his daughters to finish school there. Pressed as to whether he would follow the well-established custom of Republican and Democratic predecessors and refrain from commenting on the actions of his successor, his coy answer did not rise to the level of anything resembling presidential. What he said was something like he would keep his own counsel unless the new administration acted contrary to what he perceived to be the nation’s core values. Unlike his announced intention to be president of all the red states and blue states, his eight years were more like a constant refrain of disdain for all things oppositional, and so his answer sounded much more like a self-invitation to dominate the mics and cameras at every opportunity.
It must be grating for Trump supporters and the Gallup-divined 76% of Clinton voters who accept the election’s outcome to have to listen to President Obama avail himself of every opportunity to publicly condescend to the incoming president and talk about his style and manner as being that of someone mentally challenged. A refusal to comment on the personal leadership qualities of the people’s chosen successor appears not to have crossed his mind. So much for gracious.
At the moment, President Obama’s approval rating is at a Colorado high, but a peevish, petty demeanor will drag his rep into the political dumpster. Why? He misunderstands it. The strong majority of the people like him personally, may be glad they elected him, but are just as glad he is leaving office. The latter may be inferred by a 30 out of 50 state rejection of a Clintonian third term for his policies.
Barack Obama will be a youngish Oval Office refugee, and if he wishes to burnish his legacy, he will let the nation—and history—decide its significance. BHOXIT or BOTCHIT? It’s his choice, but January 20th cannot come too soon.
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