I said I didn’t want him to fail, which is not the same as saying I want him to be successful. And this could turn into a semantical discussion but I am going to address some of what you said. I would define a successful Obama presidency/legacy as one that simply held true and stood firm on pre-election promises – knowing full well this is virtually impossible.

“He could have inspired personal responsibility, fiscally and socially. The change we could have seen could have built bridges to bring us all together…”
“All that I’ve seen in the past year from all factions of this regime (I used that word on purpose) is more of the same of what we have seen the past 16 years.”

I think he did initially inspire people (we were both caught up in that) but inspiration is not the same as directing and/or leading. And I don’t believe President Obama could have been elected were he not part of the “regime” and hence dedicated to maintaining the status quo. I sincerely believe that any attempt to do something so radically different could cost the man his life; but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be held accountable.

“…as a society we look too often to someone to make decisions for us to tell us what to do and our culture does not cultivate that personal responsibility and fortitude required to act of our own accord.”

In one reading I’m getting disappointment that Obama could have inspired this personal responsibility but later it reads like a bootstrap argument. So I’m not altogether sure if we should be going it alone or looking to the government. A little of both I’m sure but I agree that our “culture” does NOT cultivate personal responsibility. But whose responsibility is it? The inculcation of values (and civic education) begins where? The home and the “state” through schools. We are all educated (read brainwashed) in the same way. Only some (a minority) seek to rise above their conditioning. Neither I (nor our forefathers) envisioned a totally engaged democracy (hence the electoral college). But please correct me if I’m wrong – I’m terrible with history. I guess I’m just saying that especially today, with so many competing messages, people need to be told what to do.

“A lot of what has gone wrong in my lifetime with corporations and the like has to do more with governmental controls and involvement than it does with the lack of it.”
“The first thing to remember is that no one has a right to ANYTHING that someone else must provide.“

I agree with you in principle about corporations and government but the free market has not properly self-regulated (or corrected). We must have some checks and balances (oversight). And I do believe we have a right, as humans, to certain things. Or maybe “right” is not the correct word. I believe that as taxpayers, we can have legitimate and reasonable expectations and as human beings we have some moral obligations – but that’s another discussion.

I am not under any illusion that things are going to magically get better under our current system. Quite frankly, without some major catalyzing natural or manufactured event, I’m not very optimistic about our planetary prospects – but I also don’t think that means do/expect nothing. I definitely agree the President is not above reproach. However, the climate of fear that has been created (around discussing race, national security, economic security, etc.) lends itself perfectly to perpetuating the aims of the Elite (yes I’m a proud conspiracy theorist).

That is all.