Legacy Dreams

Legacy Dreams 

What is the President doing?  To listen to news reports, he is building his legacy.  Possibly by his agreements with Yemen, Myanmar, Cuba, and now possibly Iran, he hopes to show that his vision of greater good the USA is willingness to co-opt or co-align the US with old enemies. In the Christian vision, he turns the other cheek - again and again.  He wants to establish the US as a benign partner to all.   He seems to want to fulfill a campaign pledge to close Guantanamo facility, accomplishing this by reducing the numbers of imprisoned.   The plan now revealed is to release systematically small contingents of prisoners to foreign governments, not any of which are US true friends.  As with his reclaiming Sgt. Bergdahl, we don't know what funds have been transferred or to who.  We do know the target destination countries are mostly insignificant. His view may be that history will record these actions in his favor, payments notwithstanding.  

He definitely seems uncomfortable with senior international leaders.  

We see his unwillingness to recognize "Islamic" terrorism by name.  The right leaning press makes this as an important deal.  Some indicate language is important, but it seems not to this President.  Critics may site the reason may be potential deals pending with questionable Islamic interests, notably Iran.   

Some believe his latest actions are to maintain his relevance, to create headlines, to keep his presence on the world stage.  This may be the case as he originally believed upon entry to his office was of  indefinite durability.  Yet, he did not realize that power and influence are ephemeral, and his time has come.  

It is possible his signature effort, health-care, has been judged by his inner circle as problematic for continued existence in his preferred form, and therefore he must strike out in other ways to make a lasting impression, a legacy of the highest order.  In this context it may have been strategically and tactically better had the health care initiative to have been more successful.  His other measures of regulation in the favor of a "greener" America are also a part of his legacy dreams.  He may believe that no matter how unpopular these measures are now, no matter how much current industry may suffer, no matter how many jobs may be lost,  history will vindicate his actions.   

Basically, the President believes himself to be on the "right side of history."  This pedantic notion is usually applied in the opposite manner, i.e. to be on the wrong side of history.  For some reason, this "right side" ideal may be foremost in his thinking.  

The President seems to be an ideologue functioning without pragmatic guideposts used by many others before him.  Please understand the nature of this form of  thinking, which is to believe his profound insight, his calculated measures, his transference of American leadership to others wanting it,  all comprise a view that the world should be a community of equal interests each with significant merits.