#carlylepost

Robert ‘Bob’ Gates.  There’s a particular word that comes to mind when I hear his name.  Bama.  I learned this word in 1993 during my freshman year at Howard University located in Washington, DC.  This word originated as local slang referring to an individual who did not dress well and morphed into a word defined as a buster, a man lacking integrity, a man you wouldn’t trust as far as you could throw him.   This latest incident with Robert Gates infuriates the hell out me.  I voted for Obama but at the same time have been critical of his presidency.  What I’ve come to realize after the release of Gates book is that President Obama is on an island. 

  Obama does not come from a political family carrying a powerful name such as Kennedy or Bush.  He is not a senior politician who has years of experience on the local or federal level.  His rise to fame was literally overnight.  His timing was perfect coming on to the scene when America was in need of something different from the old guard.  His election was a well-planned tactical mission that worked to perfection.  All those involved should take a bow for a job well done.

  So now Obama is in office and there is a long line of king makers that feel they have done their part in getting him elected and deserve to be rewarded.  In addition, Obama has the task of filling a plethora of positions such as cabinet members, department directors, judges and personal staff to name a few.  Since Obama is new on the political scene, he must rely on the advice of those that helped get him into office.  Obama hasn’t been around long enough to have his own circle of close confidants in the political arena.  He hasn’t been around long enough to have a list of individuals that owe him a favor.  He hasn’t been around long enough to have a following of loyalist that will carry his secrets to the grave.  And because of this, you get a Bob Gates.  Someone told Obama that Gates was good.  He would have his back.  He would strengthen his administration.   Well, this ends up as one more bad appointment that Obama has made due to his lack of experience and absence of tenure in the political game.

  After the release of Gates book, I’m certain that Obama’s circle of trust is non-existent.  Gates willingly accepted the appointment and looked Obama in the eye and swore his loyalty.  Even if Gates was totally against what Obama stood for, he at least could have waited until the end of Obama’s last term to start unveiling the dirty laundry.  This fact alone brings me back to my original term, Bama.  Only a Bama would smile in your face and trash you behind your back.   Only a Bama would reveal conversations that were held in private and thought to be confidential by the other parties.  If this word is not a part out your current vernacular, I would suggest that you start identifying those who fit the bill.  As radio personality Huggy Lowdown puts it, Robert Gates is “The Bama of The Week.”