By Nathan Rothwell
In 2003, Fox News stormtrooper
correspondent Charles Krauthammer coined the phrase “Bush Derangement
Syndrome.” When critics of the Bush Administration took it to task over
its misadventures in foreign and domestic policy, Krauthammer dismissed
the criticism as symptoms of a faux medical condition that causes "the
acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the
policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush."
 |
If this is how President Obama routinely appears to
you in your also routine nightmares, you may suffer
from Obama Derangement Syndrome, or ODS.
If you or someone you know is suffering from ODS,
consult this article immediately.
It's way cheaper than a psychiatrist. |
Here we are a decade later, and one can easily see how “George W. Bush” can be replaced with “Barack Obama,” and the term “Obama Derangement Syndrome” can just as easily be applied to some of the Obama Administration’s most outspoken detractors. Many an uninformed voter exists who can’t have a rational conversation about Obama without launching into a tirade of either unquantifiable or improvable belief statements (Obama HATES the troops), or attacks stemming from a realm of pure fantasy (Obama waived the work requirements for those lazy welfare freeloaders!) So while it pains me to lend Krauthammer any credit, this Obama-version of his “derangement syndrome” concoction seems to best describe some of these people.
A form of O.D.S. found its way into my inbox recently in the form of one of those “Why OBAMA Should GO!!!” emails making its rounds in the American cyberverse. It pains me greatly that chain emails comprise any sort of public discourse in this country, let alone political discourse. However, it did grant some insight into the world of those who despise President Obama, but aren't particularly artful in explaining why. Their core beliefs are backed by discredited statistics, and sometimes no facts at all.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once famously said that “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” In this spirit, I thought it might be fun to respond to the source of the chain email with facts that fly in the face of the “reasons” that President Obama should be voted out of office. And in the spirit of promoting informed debate during this election season, I’ve reprinted responses to some of the more common unfounded criticisms surrounding Obama. While many have made their minds up to hate him no matter what, I hope that there are some people out there who might reevaluate their convictions when presented with information stemming from outside the Fox News bubble of myopia.
Anyway, onto the fun.
