Listening to Obama
By Art Gallagher
Unlike many conservative and Republican pundits on television and social media, my reaction to President Obama’s Oval Office address last evening was positive. He surprised me. I though last night’s speech revealed a shift in the president. Albeit a low bar, I thought Obama’s address was his best since he’s taken office.
When I said so on social media, a friend and man that I respect asked if I was under the influence of drugs, alcohol or lack of sleep. Fortunately I am not suffering from any of those afflictions. But over the course of 2015 I have noticed that I suffer from a combination of empathetic and sympathetic listening. I first noticed this affliction last February at a town hall meeting that Governor Christie held in Burlington County. I walked into that town hall really down on the Governor I once supported enthusiastically. During the course of the meeting I noticed I was becoming enthused about him and the job he was doing for New Jersey again. I woke up on the drive home and started to practice fact checking my own initial reactions to political speeches.
Posted: December 7th, 2015 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Barack Obama, Opinion, War on terror | Tags: Iraq, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Levant, Levant Maine, Muslims, Opinion, President Barack Obama, Syria, War on terror | 4 Comments »