I know I am not supposed to leave my stereotype or label and stay in the same camp all the time, but I found a little Outrage toward my president while checking my facebook.
I at one time "liked" Barack Obama on Facebook, therefore I get news from him in my 'newsfeed'.
He did something that kind of got to me a little bit.
His campaign is offering a little contest, or maybe a 'sweepstakes', that "You can win a private Dinner with Barack Obama and Joe Biden".
In order to get your name in the hat -- a $5 donation or more must be made to the Obama campaign. Since 2008, I have gotten an e-mail from the Obama camp on a near daily basis.
Now I am a little upset that the opportunity to win dinner with the president must be preceded by a donation to his campaign. There is likely nothing illegal or unconstitutional being done.
It's just the idea that his gesture toward inviting a private citizen to dine with them, must be included with some donation to his campaign.
Maybe I'm wrong on this one. Maybe he wants to show appreciation to his contributors.
Afterall, I do like that his campaign was said to be all grassroots and not to be from Special Interests. At least that is what I thought he said. IF that is true, that is not a bad thing, and to generate excitement at the grassroots level can still be hard to do.
I guess where it gets to me is that if he really wants to dine with common people, there should not be anything in it for him. He is the one that is the elected servant. If he offered the opportunity in his campaign and was still out there doing it without strings attached, it wouldn't sting me so much.
Barack sitting across the table from me is like anyone else, another person is sitting there that puts his pants on the same way I do.
My question is this -- will we ever get someone else who is not a manufactured celebrity or who doesn't take his or her orders from pundits or opinion polls?
I haven't totally become Anti-Obama and I cannot see too many other people that excite me, but I think it is Arrogant to think that the honor is mine to win a dinner with Barack should I donate and my name be drawn, and that I would be willing to PAY for the honor. No, I believe the honor to hear from a citizen should be HIS.
I will not donate...and if I would have donated and won, by God, the HONOR SHOULD BE HIS if I would be able to fit dinner with him into my calendar that day.
Now I know that the winner gets free airfare and will be extended great Hospitality. Still, if Barack really wants to have citizens at his table, there should be nothing in it for him.
I guarantee that if he did bring in people with no strings attached, and a different commoner sat at his table every night, the press would not hide it...and I don't think they'd hide it if ANY president did that.
Hell, empty out a mental institution and put them around your table. It may be interesting conversation, but the opportunity to be in touch with the Everyday average American is not lacking. It's always there if you ever want to know.
It's a way of having a table full of partisans and people friendly to the cause. And there should be ways Barack can thank his contributors. But this rubs me the wrong way and I'm not sure why.
I still trust my government and their laws and all that, even the ones I don't like, at least very few of them are unjust. But the arrogance of the politicians sometimes floors me - their position gets to them just a little bit.
We the electorate no longer demand that they be Servant Leaders and maybe we never did. We instead pay attention to all the externals. Obama always wins big on the externals.
But when we peel the layers of the onion back, a different story unfolds.
Obama can be good and has been good...but he has not been great.
on June 30, 2011, 11:23 am