A Fairness Quiz for the President

Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal has some questions that he'd like to ask the President.  Since Barack Obama perpetually invokes the word "fairness," moreover with the propriety of a sole possessor, the good reporter--one of the few--thought to probe more deeply into what the President might mean.

Some of my favorites follow.  Coincidentally, an acronym formed by the first letter of a fitting label for what each question indicates about the menace his presidency presents spells B-A-R-A-C-K.  Fancy that.

Bias:

Is it fair that roughly 88% of political contributions from supposedly impartial network television reporters, producers and other employees in 2008 went to Democrats?

Abuse:

Is it fair that those who took out responsible mortgages and pay them each month have to see their tax dollars used to subsidize those who acted recklessly, greedily and sometimes deceitfully in taking out mortgages they now can't afford to repay?

Royalty:

Is it fair that the three counties with America's highest median family income just happen to be located in the Washington, D.C., metro area?

Arrogance:

Is it fair that federal employees receive benefits that are nearly 50% higher than those of private-sector workers whose taxes pay their salaries, according to the Congressional Budget Office?

Corruption:

Is it fair that some of Mr. Obama's largest campaign contributors received federal loan guarantees on their investments in renewable energy projects that went bust?

Kids:

Is it fair that our kids and grandkids and great-grandkids—who never voted for Mr. Obama—will have to pay off the $5 trillion of debt accumulated over the past four years, without any benefits to them?

Read the full article.  It's teeming with questions that the President won't be asked, at least not by the Washington press corp or the lapdogs he throws the bone of an interview to.

Between President Obama and my three year old son, "fairness" is a word that has lost its luster for me.  That's too bad, because it's an important word.

Fairness is a synonym for justice, one of the cardinal virtues.  It means giving to each his due.

It is not a word, or concept, that people should lose respect for.  But, that's what happens when demagogues appropriate words that mean one thing and twist them to mean another in order to suit their purposes.

My three-year old thinks that fairness is anything he wants, especially if it's something that somebody else has.  It's my job as his father to make sure that he learns the correct meaning, which is rooted in the metaphysic of the good, not his viscera.

It's a pity that President Obama didn't have a father to teach him that lesson.  That was his mother's choice, or perhaps his father's.

I am reminded of my three year old's view of the world too often these days, as the president's ubiquitous presence and incessant droning about "fair shares" corresponds so closely to the same meaning.  Fairness to President Obama is whatever the Left wants regardless of consequences in the real world.

America needs a grown up in the White House, and many more in the Senate and Judiciary.  It would only be fair for adults to assume their responsibility, and supply that need in November.