Any leader MUST have top quality lieutenants. They advise from different perspectives and they can contribute a more detailed level of knowledge in specific areas. It’s one of the things you learn, either via formal education or by on-the-job training – a leader can’t do it alone, he/she has to choose the right people to be part of the team.

The ability to choose team members is proving to be one of the glaring weaknesses of Barack Obama. He’s a rookie, a novice, a newbie at it – he’s never been a real leader. And his choices for friends and associates make one wonder about his ability to judge character.

Other prerequisites for a good leader are consistency and honesty. Unfortunately for Barack Obama, being consistently dishonest doesn’t qualify.

The promises that he so eloquently made to American voters during his campaign are one-by-one, disappearing into the Obamosphere, never to be seen (or heard) again. He’s forgotten about those promises; his flock should also forget them as well, as he had no intention of keeping them.

And now, because of the electorate’s American Idol-style popularity vote, he’s been thrust into the most difficult job on the planet, a job for which he is woefully unqualified.

If the left – just for a moment – could open their eyes (don’t worry, nobody’s looking – and we won’t tell) and look objectively at what their Chosen One has done so far. It is not a pretty picture. It’s falling waaay short of the rhetoric of his campaign.

His actions and miscues have planted seeds – seeds of doubt, about Obama’s ability to lead.

Each seed is being fertilized by the over-application of manure, shoveled on by today’s Democrat party leaders, and watered by the tears of those who love the Constitution and hate seeing it raped and pillaged.

The seeds are growing.

And now, we’re seeing new sprouts.

For instance, let’s look at Obama’s choice for Budget Director, Peter Orszag. Mr. Orszag produced a particularly rosy projection in August of last year while working at the CBO (Congressional Budget Office): “CBO projects that outlays will first exceed revenues in 2019 and that the Social Security trust funds will be exhausted in 2049.”

And yet a PBS Nightly Business Report video clip forecasted on Friday 3/27/2009 that, based on the President’s own budget figures, stats from the Treasury’s own website and new data from the non-partisan CBO, revenues are down and benefit cost is up right now, putting Social Security in a position of drawing down of the surplus built up over many previous years. It is reported that February of 2009 is the first time in 25 years that benefits exceeded income and annual deficits are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

And another example of Mr. Orszag’s qualifications to be budget director is his assessment of Fannie Mae’s future. In 2002, he said “GSE’s (Government Sponsored Enterprises) have an extremely small probability of default.” And he also said, “To be sure, it is difficult to analyze extremely low-probability events, such as the one embodied in the (GSA) stress test. Even if the analysis is off by an order of magnitude, however, the expected cost to the government is still very modest.”

His estimation of the cost of a possible failure of Fannie and Freddie was covered in this statement: “the implication is that the expected cost to the government of providing an explicit government guarantee on $1 trillion in GSE debt is just $2 million.”

And this guy is Obama’s new budget director?

Oh golly, look! There’s another sprout!

In the midst of an economic crisis, Obama names a Treasury Secretary who has had trouble paying his taxes on time.

In 2006, the Internal Revenue Service audited Tim Geithner for tax years 2003 and 2004, and he paid $16,732 for the back taxes, and interest for those years.

After Obama nominated him for treasury secretary, Geithner voluntarily amended his taxes for 2001 and 2002 as well, paying $25,970 for back taxes and interest for those years.

Whether his tax filings were wrong because of honest mistakes or a conscious attempt to cheat on his taxes doesn’t really matter. It does show that Geithner has a pattern of not dotting “i’s” and crossing “t’s,” a dangerous trait for someone in charge of the Treasury of the United States – the taxpayer’s money – our money.

And to support this new economic sprout, Obama has only filled two slots out of twenty-three at treasury (2 of 23). True, he has named a few more, but for various reasons, they didn’t make the cut. So, while we’re supposed to be in “crisis” mode relative to the economy, we have a skeleton crew at the helm (about 8% of the authorized manpower).

Sixty days into this “best-ever” administration, Obama has dropped the ball (again) by woefully under-staffing the Treasury Department while we’re struggling to stave off an economic meltdown.

These actions exhibit ineptitude at its highest level.

And yet another shoot sprouts up:

Remember Obama’s promise to “loosen the grip of lobbyists on Washington,” or his promise that “they won't find a job in my White House.”

Contrast those campaign promises to reality.

USA Today reported Obama's campaign fundraising team included 38 members of law firms that were paid $138 million in 2007 to lobby the federal government. Those lawyers, including 10 former federal lobbyists, have pledged to raise at least $3.5 million" for Obama's campaign, the report states. "Employees of their firms have given Obama's campaign $2.26 million."

But that was the campaign, you say.

Well, it continued right into his new administration. When it came to naming administration appointments, it wasn't long before he allowed at least two dozen exceptions and broke his promise two dozen times.

During the Presidential debates he said, “We need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."

And then he said to a joint session of Congress (of the $767,000,000,000 “stimulus” bill), "Now, I'm proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks."

He says, (on his own website) "Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days." What a crock.

And yet, his first bill was signed 2 days after passage, the 2^nd one, only 3 hours after Congress passed it.

And the coup de grace, Obama signed his 1,000-page $787,000,000,000 stimulus bill only one business day after it passed through Congress.

It was also pushed through Congress so quickly, not one member read it before voting.

I only wish that we, the people, could hear how we’re characterized behind closed doors. He really has to have a low estimation of our intelligence and common sense to flagrantly ignore his “promises” and consistently do just the opposite.

I’d be willing to personally contribute $10,000.00 (seriously) towards payment to someone wearing a wire (or somehow) recording a meeting between Obama, Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel, Harry Reid, etc. and recording an hour or two. I am firmly convinced that the release of that tape showing the low esteem with which we, the people, are held would rally the populace to dump the lot of them.

He must believe that he won’t be called to account, his popularity, and his powers of flim-flamery are just too great. And as long as he’s popular, the other dems will support him.

But, even now, growing numbers of his supporters are becoming disenchanted and are beginning to ask “WTF?”