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I have to wonder when he set his sites on the presidency, if Barack Hussein Obama ever envisioned what lie ahead for him. Did he have any idea how, once elected, his "audacity of hope" would eventully descend into an "abyss of hell"? Certainly he knew that a victory would mean inheriting the dregs of his do-nothing predecessor, and it’s a given that there’s no way to prepare for the job of being the most powerful man on earth. But you’d think that realizing this, Obama would’ve kept in mind the importance of designating authority to people he could depend on. One year into his second term, the survivor of a lackluster first term, Obama is presently mired in the deep doo-doo that threatens to stink up his legacy. Yes, the vicious racism of Republican colleagues have contributed to his ongoing problems, but the albatross of the affordable health care fiasco along with the emasculating confrontations with Syrian and Iranian leaders are of his own making, leaving him hard pressed to maintain his swagger. Even his popular wife seems to be keeping a low profile, cracking her whip behind the scenes. While the press and talking heads are having a field day deconstructing Obama’s woes, conspicuously silent are the president’s left wing detractors. Guys like Cornel West and Tavis Smiley have suddenly become mute, possibly gloating over an opportunity to witness the decline of the leader who consistently snubbed their input, and whose approval ratings have plummeted to an all-time low. Black conservative Republicans like Dr. Ben Carson, however, have become very vocal in their criticism, taking shots that are putting smiles on the faces of Tea Party zealots Even some Democrats are disillusioned and have started to distance themselves from their fearless leader. Not to worry. Obama’s black constituency remains faithful and true. How did it come to all of this? Everybody has a theory I guess. And what started out as minor gaffs alerted me to suspect that an undercurrent of leaks and hearsay now surfacing around Chicagoland have susbstance. Talking trash about Chicago’s sports’ teams, or using beer diplomacy to smooth the ruffled feathers of combatants invited to settle differences over a bottle of Bud were signs to me that Obama’s attempts at being a regular guy were a reflection of his close knit Chicago posse, who are “regular” to a fault. Being advisors to POTUS calls for people who are extraordinary, as opposed to being obstinately inept in a manner typical of bush league Chicago politicians. This inner circle of his and his wife’s good friends, early on demonstrated that they were in over their heads, excelling mostly at rendering the president clueless about things he should have been on top of. This also triggered a situation where white aides jockeying for position among those resistent to any attempts at usurping black power, gradually began to resign and defect. You have a recipe for disaster if you add to this, something which perennially plagues black organizations and entrepreneurships: not being detail-oriented, and lacking executive prowess. These shortcomings seem to have been the downfall of Obama’s self-important posse members. The result? An embarrassing hot mess. Can Obama rehabilitate his image and secure an honorable place for himself in the annals of the American presidency? Who knows? If all the black prayers reach the ears of Jesus, and if Jesus sends capable people to assist the president in keeping obamacare from imploding, and the tinderboxes in Iran and Syria from exploding, Obama may yet escape the brand of being a man who the office made, and triumphantly emerge as a “man who made the office”! But the way things are going now, the only thing he may be remembered for is maintaining “grace under pressue” while losing his credibility.