Goodbye and Good Riddance Obama Godspeed President Trump

In the words of the old spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we're free at last." Barack Obama is no longer president and Donald Trump is. As further proof that a leopard doesn't change his spots, Obama spent his final weeks in office doing the same things he did throughout his presidency – displaying his utter contempt for America and trashing our Constitution. In a series of despicable displays of arrogance over his last few weeks in office, the lame duck circumvented Congress yet again by issuing even more executive orders. Obama used vague provisions in an old statute to make nearly 120 million acres of water inaccessible for fossil fuel exploration. Then, in another attempt to limit the use of our natural resources, he designated two new national monuments, essentially placing over a million and a half acres off limits to fossil fuel exploration. Then, in what I consider to be Obama's most egregious act, he commuted the sentence of Bradley/Chelsea Manning.

Unable and unwilling to build congressional support for his liberal policies, Obama abused his executive power to designate about 115 million acres of the Arctic and about 3.8 million acres of the Atlantic Ocean to be off limits to oil and gas exploration. Those areas have vast deposits of natural resources that could greatly benefit our country for years to come. True to form, Obama acted against our nation's interests in his attempt to block our use of those vital natural resources. I am confident that President Trump will undue Obama's unconstitutional actions.

In a reprehensible land grab, Obama signed proclamations creating new national monuments, preventing exploration for fossil fuels. Combined, those monuments cover about 1.65 million acres of land in Utah and Nevada. Surpassing all of his predecessors, Obama has misused his executive orders to set aside 535 million acres through his many federal land grabs. Apparently viewing Congress as a minor impediment to the achievement of his liberal agenda, Obama bypassed it as often as he deemed it necessary.

In the waning days of his administration, Obama committed a final despicable act of betrayal when he commuted the sentence of Bradley/Chelsea Manning. He/she was correctly imprisoned because he/she illegally leaked confidential information, an act which likely led to the murders of American informants. Without a doubt, Manning's actions were deeply appreciated by the enemies of our nation. In fact, the information Manning leaked was found in Osama Bin Laden's lair. His/her commutation was a display of contempt for every man and woman who bravely serve in our military.

Obama did all he could to thwart President Trump's plans to grow America's economy and return our nation to greatness. But I have faith that the Trump administration will lead America through the obstacle course set up by his predecessor and put our country back on the path to success and prosperity. To Obama, I say, "Goodbye and good riddance." To President Trump, I say, "Godspeed!"