It is long overdue for someone, anyone, to back up President Barack Obama.
Yes, it is easy to kvetch about the shortcomings he's faced on both domestic and international fronts, and who can argue with the most recent Gallup poll that equated his approval rating to that of President George W. Bush, but as an early supporter of the president, I must admit, I am prouder than ever to call Barack Obama my president.
He's smart, he's pragmatic, and he's black. Yeah, I said it. I'm a white Jew from the San Fernando Valley who grew up in an all-white and Asian neighborhood. Never in my life did I have an opportunity to demonstrate my unflagging support for a black man who clearly deserved the nation's top spot, not because he is black, but because voting for President Obama demonstrated to the world that America values competence over race.
I am grateful that I have an opportunity to tell my son that I am responsible for helping elect the country's first black president. And I know what the pundits will say: There goes another self-righteous white liberal who thinks he's saving the world by backing up a black president. And all I have to say to you is this: It's foolhardy to forsake what the president has accomplished.
It's foolhardy to forsake the man who brought the country's most maligned terrorist to justice. It's foolhardy to forsake the man who inherited a suck-wind economy that is a lot healthier now than it's been in years. And it's foolhardy to forsake the man who had the courage to fix a health care system that no other recent president dared to fix because they didn't have the guts to do so.
And I know what the pundits will say: There goes another self-righteous white liberal whose naiveté about how the world works is what gets the country into trouble in the first place. And all I have to say to you is this: It's foolhardy to forsake what the president has accomplished.
It's foolhardy to forsake the man who is dealing with ISIS, Ukraine and Russia, fallout from Ferguson, and every other red-hot world crisis that is happening at the same time. It's foolhardy to forsake the man who believes gay people should be treated like everyone else. And it's foolhardy to forsake the man who cares about the environment.
And I know what the pundits will say: There goes another self-righteous white liberal who is making excuses for the president and lacks any sort of moral fortitude. And all I have to say to you is this: It's foolhardy to forsake what the president has accomplished.
It's foolhardy to forsake the man who improved the image of Americans when traveling in foreign countries, it's foolhardy to forsake the man who decided to tackle the inequities of student lending programs, and it's foolhardy to forsake the man whose family values serve as an important role model.
Measuring the president's approval rating is riddled with pitfalls. The Gallup poll feels more like a barometer for people's take on how messed up the world is at the moment, and boy, does the world feel messed up at the moment.
And I know what the pundits will say: It's the president's fault. And all I have to say to you is this: The scale of what Barack Obama has accomplished as president has done more for this country in the long run than any pollster can measure, and if you realize this, hardly a fool that you can be called.