EDITORIAL: Joe Wilson: Hero or horror?

The Joe Wilson matter has resolved itself surprisingly quickly it would seem. When the South Carolina representative called out “You lie!” in the middle of President Barrack Obama’s address to Congress last week, one could have assumed the incident would be turned into a Democratic rallying point to pushed through whatever legislation their hearts desired. “How can you expect us to work with those people?” They could have said, “You saw what one of them did at the president’s address. They are just not reasonable.”
However, initial cries to have Rep. Wilson censured were called off, saying that it would be a distraction from having a meaningful debate on healthcare. Of course, the idea of using the word “debate” is almost laughable, considering not much of that has gone between people whose last names aren’t Reid, Pelosi or Obama.
For the other members of government—and the citizens as a whole—yet another eloquent address from the commander-in-chief will have to do. However, Obama still doesn’t seem to understand that no matter how eloquent he might sound, the principles on which his arguments are based continue to be weak, misguided and dangerous. Are his intentions good ones? One would assume so. But having good intentions doesn’t automatically qualify the quality of your notions.
Therein lies the problem with the president’s perception of what it means to be the leader of the free world.
An issue brought up on the campaign trail was that Obama just didn’t have enough executive experience to be president. Responsibilities as a community organizer, a state position and a less than one-term senator are miles away from the challenges offered when 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is where you lay your head at night.
Is it possible that the president has finally realized just how complicated the job he now holds is? Perhaps Obama feels cornered and overwhelmed, which would explain why he has been hiding on extended vacations these past few months or locked up in the People’s House meeting with his Democrat congressional cronies.
Whenever the president does commit himself to dealing with policy matters he has a nasty habit of reverting back to campaign style rhetoric and fervor.
This, of course, makes sense when one considers the campaign trail was where he spent the majority of his time as a federally elected official.
Look at the three major public events on the president’s schedule last week: a pep talk at a the United Steel Worker’s union picnic, a speech to America’s school children and an address to Congress. Each time, Obama fell into his usual campaign routine of mass generalities and few specifics. Hard matters of policy stances were not really front and center, but then again they really didn’t have to be.
The president had a very supportive audience at the picnic, a docile one in front of the kids and a Congress dominated by his own party. Combine that with the fact mentioned earlier about not meeting with people other than Pelosi or Reid and you see that the president hasn’t really engaged in any meaningful debate at all. 
So, is it really any surprise that Rep. Wilson let his frustration burst forth like he did? Perhaps the president might avoid situations like that if he actually took the time to engage in meaningful discussion and get off the campaign trail for ten minutes.
Wilson’s outburst might have been rude and it might have been inappropriate, but it was most defiantly understandable.