A profile in calculation

Last Sunday at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, former President Barack Obama was given the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

In his remarks, Obama defended the Affordable Care Act, his signature legislative achievement, which quickly became known as Obamacare. Though it is failing nearly everywhere as insurance companies pull out of the exchanges and premiums continue to rise, the former president asked Congress to be courageous and not repeal it:

“I hope they understand that courage means not simply doing what’s politically expedient, but doing what, deep in our hearts, we know is right. And that kind of courage is required from all of us.”

That line made me laugh. Obama’s entire life has been about doing what was politically expedient. Take, for example, David J. Garrow’s massive biography of the 44th president titled Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama. Anyone who reads—or just reads the reviews—will find that Obama planned even mundane and personal decisions in ways to advance his career and achieve his eventual goal of becoming president.

Among other things, Garrow writes that Obama’s embrace of Christianity, which included his public display of carrying a Bible to the surprise of friends who never considered him “religious,” was designed to appeal to that demographic. It explains his decision to join the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s church in Chicago, where the controversial pastor often gave controversial sermons—with overtones that ranged from anti-Semitic to anti-American. It also explains why while running for president in 2007, candidate Obama tried to distance himself from Wright by saying:

“Rev. Wright’s comments were not only wrong, but divisive. Divisive at a time when we need unity. Racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems. Problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.”

It seems clear enough that Obama has not been a profile in courage, but a profile in calculation.

Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on the May 11 edition of The World and Everything in It.