Hey Obama - You're Not My Daddy

When I left home at age 18, I breathed a sigh of relief. Free at last. I was legally of an age where I assumed the right to make my own decisions. No longer could my mother tell me to eat my vegetables, to quit smoking, to clean my room or to modify my behavior to someone else's standards. Heady stuff.

As I threw off the shackles of parental supervision, I willingly assumed the responsibilities of a grown-up. I got a job; I paid my bills, and planned for the future. I worked hard and focused on being the best I could be. After the requisite 'teachable moments,' I succeeded. I achieved the American dream, on my own. Without any government handouts. Like most Americans.

Enter Obama and the change he promised. Obama and his buddies seem intent on treating me as if I am still a child. Not a day goes by that I don't see the image of our dear leader on television imploring me to wash my hands, urging dads to be good dads, and lecturing me on what I can and cannot say.

Even first lady Michelle is getting in on the act, solemnly advising one and all to donate to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. As if she has a lock on moral virtue. Color me offended.

Hey Obama, you're not my daddy. I don't need or want your advice on how to live my life. In fact, I quite resent your blatant patronization and condescension. I'm not a child any more. And I don't need you to lecture me. Most especially when you yourself don't walk the walk.

Being elected President did not give you the right to assume a parental role. I have a family for that. And I don't need your wife to lecture me on the virtues of compassion. I have a church for that. And I most assuredly don't need your minions appropriating my hard earned money under false pretenses, and spending it faster than I earn it. I had a husband for that.

Here's a thought: How about you concentrate on your responsibilities and let me take care of my own. Your responsibility includes keeping America safe, not arbitrating football rules. Your responsibilities include waging a war against murdering Islamists who would see America ruined. Maybe you should point that wagging finger at them instead of SUV drivers and fellow smokers.

I'm not an expert on community organizing, nor am I an intellectual. I'm just an ordinary citizen living in flyover country, trying to be the best I can be. And frankly, Obama, I think there are pressing world problems you should address, instead of lecturing me on what I eat, what I drive, what I say and the life decisions I have made.

You may be President, but you are not a role model I aspire to. I, gasp, judge people by their actions, not their words. And though I have respect for the office you hold, I don't respect you. Your actions have been shrouded in secrecy and double dealing. Your [successful] attempts to manipulate people through poll tested buzz words and high sounding rhetoric are wearing thin.

Here's a heads-up: nowhere in the Constitution that you swore to uphold, is there anything that entitles you to assume the role of parent. You're not my daddy. So please.... tend to your own garden and get off my back. I quit needing parental supervision decades ago. And I am thoroughly offended by your self-righteous patronization.

I'll make you a deal. When you start living by the same rules you are imposing on the rest of us, then I might take time from my busy schedule to listen to your advice. Until then, I sure wish you'd start living up to your own responsibilities and quit telling me what mine are.

Here's a clue: Quit campaigning and start leading - and make sure your own house is clean before you start inspecting mine. Most of all, quit with the lies. Most Americans see through them by now and all they do is offend us. Step up to the plate Obama. Stop with the town halls, public service announcements and staged photo ops. This country needs a leader, not a lecturer. It's time for you to grow up. Please.