The "Character" of a Man

Been a while, and I'm getting a bit antsy. Time to vent...

That this great nation founded on the principles of free speech, liberty, and open debate, is a model which we should all relish. I am grateful healthy debate can take place among my family and friends without my head being removed from my torso as it would be in times past. I started a debate with an email that was seemingly full of “lies”, however, nothing stated in the body of the email was indeed a claim that Obama did not attend Columbia, the statement at the very beginning and end could have been omitted though. What ensued was a very pleasant dialogue for several days which was quite encouraging to read. It also made me revisit the way I think about the man.

I don’t agree with many people’s politics, sometimes I change my own mind, we have that right too. My problem with this president is his complete lack of openness, or unwillingness to be open, with the people he represents, which to me is the epitome of character. We all have character flaws that make us who we are, admitting those gives us integrity. I find his lacking. That disturbs me. He may be a good man, good men are willing to expose not only their strengths, but their weaknesses as well.
- Why is he so unwilling to reveal his transcripts from Occidental, Columbia, or Harvard? Bad grades? Who cares! Bush had bad grades, drank his way out of Yale! We all know that story, nothing to hide there.
-After becoming a U.S. Senator in 2004 and supposedly having supplied proper citizenship documentation at that time, why did his staff not apply for a duplicate short form copy of his Hawaii birth certificate until 2007, and refuse to make it available to the public until 6 months after the election? They had plenty of time to acquire a photostatic copy of the original long form certificate before his senate campaign. And yes the long form would need to be on file for the registrar to legally issue the duplicate short form. OK, it is real, he is a citizen, WHY IS HE HIDING IT? I DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT! If I were running for President of the country I hold so dear to my heart, and the people I am about to give my all to would ask if I am truly one of them, I would shout it from the top of the Capitol Building with my birth certificate in hand for all to see with my chest swelling with PRIDE!

The original email stated that it is interesting that we know less about this man than any President in history. Why? The media which normally would have had a field day by now has come up with nothing. Maybe the guy truly was a saint (even though the coke and pot he admitted to using at Occidental had to cause at least a little mischief ). No girlfriends? Even the Snopes links my son sent mention 9 friends over 6 years by name, and I believe only one was female (no assumptions intended). They were asked not to speak because most were Muslim (beside the point). Even the USA Today article refers to the Obama campaigns refusal to speak about his years at Columbia. Why? What about the years teaching and working in Chicago, no friends, no social life? The Wikipedia article on him is even less insightful, he went to school here, travelled there. Compare it to Bush’s Wiki, actually pretty funny in places, and pretty disturbing in others to be honest, but at least thorough.

Politics aside, I find it difficult to trust a man who WILL not look us in the eye and answer a simple question without hesitation. And I am sure that if this President wishes to earn my trust, he will stop standing in shadows tossing tidbits and allow me to know his character in the way I have known all the other leaders of my country, with openness and honesty.