Malcontents Already Trying to Impeach Obama?!

In the case of American presidential elections, it's been typical to give the victor a bit of a honeymoon period before launching into the typical partisan criticism. This is especially the case with individuals who are entering their first terms in office. It's not totally out-of-line to expect that Obama's opponents would moderate their opposition until the man actually makes a couple of decisions related to the job. Unfortunately his case seems to be developing into a notable exception. Obviously there is a significant amount of voters for McCain that aren't willing to respect his position, regardless of whatever claims of patriotism they used to espouse. There's just something that sets this President-Elect apart.

The sad thing about this situation is that Barack Obama seems to genuinely want to earn the respect of his opponents. He would like to define his relationship with that group in the past tense. The words that he chose to reassure these malcontents are still ringing through the mediasphere, and I fear that they will someday be used to attack him- "To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too". I think more than anything else, that claim will be used as a weapon with which to bludgeon his administration, rather than the invitation it so obviously was. I suppose that is indicative of the times we live in.

Would you be surprised to learn that the efforts to stymie Obama have already begun? Yesterday several media outlets reported that "Impeach Obama" websites have already been started. There are apparently several Facebook groups dedicated to this end, including one with over 700 members (and that was before all the new publicity). But in searching for those sites today, I ran across mention of similar pages that had been posted months ago. There's a place (for instance) where you could sign a petition for impeachment as early as August 4th (a date no doubt intentionally coinciding with Obama's birthdate). It's reasonable to wonder what exact crimes the man could be guilty of that would justify such a measure.

The specific petition I wasted my time reading accuses Obama of adolescent drug use, associations with people like Tony Rezko, money laundering while working at his law firm, "vote-rigging" in Chicago, lying, and an inconsistent relationship to the Freedom of Information Act. Granted this effort was dedicated to his removal from the US Senate, but I have no doubt the charges will be rolled over to be used in any assault on his presidency. It doesn't particularly matter that these accusations are baseless, unsubstantiated, vague, ridiculous and laughable- but it does trouble me that these wingnuts have been so proactive in their campaign to ruin Obama for purely partisan reasons.

One of the Facebook groups I mentioned earlier actually cites policy positions as reasons to have Obama removed from an office he has yet to even assume. It whines that Obama "has voiced support for various unconstitutional programs such as the assault weapons ban, universal healthcare, and various schemes for wealth distribution." The melodrama is palpable in the breathless rhetoric of these deluded nitwits. But I do believe that they should be taken seriously. We ignore them at our own peril. These are folks that are dedicated to opposing any form of democracy that doesn't lead to their own narrow vision of America. It doesn't matter that Barack Obama was fairly elected to represent this nation. He is their enemy.