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Since I’ve been beating up on the Republicans here lately…

First and foremost, he’s not a leader. During Obama’s time in the Senate he very rarely took a position before it was time to vote. For example, on the most critical Iraq “blank check” funding vote, Obama refused to disclose how he was going to vote until after the vote. That’s absurd. A leader takes a position and persuades people to follow. The Iraq war is a critical issue for this country and Obama failed to lead. He even failed to speak out before the vote.

Now whether or not you believe in “global warming,” environmental issues are great part (or should be) of any major contender for President. Obama is a laggard on this critical issue. For example, Obama signed onto the Sanders-Boxer global warming bill 4 months after it was introduced and signed on to the bill on the same day and within hours of Clinton, after it was politically “safe” to do so. Again, that’s not leadership. That’s just a good follower. He will go where it is safe. And America doesn’t need a leader who is a follower. If he were a real leader on global warming/environment, he would have co-sponsored the Sanders-Boxer bill, known as the “gold standard of climate change bills” from day 1. In addition, Obama still is a proponent of coal to liquids which is a technology which emits twice the global warming gases of the fuel it replaces. It’s a big step in the wrong direction. Obama said he didn’t sign on to Sanders-Boxer because it couldn’t pass. So why did he sign on 4 months later (since the support had not changed). And leaders take the right position and convince others to follow, so Obama also displayed a lack of leadership by not supporting this key legislation soon after it was introduced.

Obama’s most recent legislation, his signature “Health Care for Hybrids” bill, you find that Obama pays for the auto companies healthcare costs, but he doesn’t require them to change! His bill doesn’t require them to produce more hybrids (that requirement isn’t even mentioned anywhere), and it doesn’t require them to improve their average fuel economy even by 1 mile per gallon. Obama simply makes change optional. It’s pretty plain as day if you read the bill. But the press and Obama’s competitors failed to do their basic homework and check him out to see if the walk matches the talk. That’s not the kind of “change” America needs.

America needs a leader who is a leader; Obama has shown me that he is not a leader. He’s a great speaker, he very inspiring, but to be President I don’t feel those qualities are enough.

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