President Barack Obama is squarely in the epicenter of a political storm – a mounting controversy that Republicans hope will tarnish Obama’s legacy as America’s first black commander-in-chief.
As I was walking along Capitol Hill last week, a place where Republicans have never been particularly respectful of Obama, I overheard conservatives whispering gleefully about Obama’s political demise. One gentleman with a southern accent told a colleague that Obama is “on the ropes” – a common boxing term which means that the opponent has been rendered lifeless from relentless blows to the body.
Some are privately hoping to craft Obama’s political obituary in the months ahead and several misguided Republicans actually claim that impeaching Obama is a possibility.
Insane. What exactly has Obama done wrong? What laws has the president been accused of breaking? None. As former President Bill Clinton likes to say: “This dog won’t hunt.”
The president’s critics, like sharks circling prey after smelling blood in the water, feel that Obama can’t withstand the recent trifecta crisis: The killing of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11; the targeted IRS review of conservative groups; and the Justice Department’s seizure of phone records of Associated Press journalists.
These three unrelated scandals are likely causing some White House advisers many sleepless nights as Republicans continue to pound Obama for what they call hypocrisy and failed leadership. Did some members of the president’s senior staff show bad judgment? Yes, but none of these scandals have been directly linked to Obama.
Still, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, told reporters that impeachment Of Obama is not a far-fetched notion.
“It’s certainly a possibility,” Chaffetz said. “That’s not the goal but given the continued lies perpetrated by this administration, I don’t know where it’s going to go. … I’m not taking it off the table. I’m not out there touting that, but I think this gets to the highest levels of our government and integrity and honesty are paramount.”
That’s completely absurd.
COMMENTARY: Can the GOP Really Impeach Obama? was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
