The decision of who will become the next president of the United States will be made long before November of 2012.  After the current president's most recent tour de farce before a joint session of Congress, it is rapidly becoming a foregone conclusion who it's not going to be.

The Obama-adoring New York Times concedes that their manufactured politician may be in deep trouble as his own base begins to abandon him.  Independents have already done so.  The right was never on his side.  Even the Washington Post doesn't flinch from using the word "laughingstock" when referring to the petty political antics of Obama.  And then a Catholic Republican wins a pivotal bellwether election against a Jewish Democrat in a liberal, heavily Jewish New York City congressional district, running on the theme of an Obama referendum!

One could reasonably conclude that a toxic Obama is now rapidly becoming, if not already is, "unelectable."

What?  How could the great and powerful Obama ever be considered unelectable?  Many mistakenly believed that in 2008, but somehow Obama miraculously proved them all wrong (just ask Hillary).  But that was then, when he was largely a blank slate and wore the halo of a saint (Google: "Obama halo pics").  Obama even saw himself as a divine being of superlative stature: "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America."  (His own words!)

Admittedly, his fall from grace didn't happen overnight, but happen it did, as his profound failures and incompetency have culminated into what will surely be seen by future historians as his seminal "Jobs Bill Speech."  This was the moment when the "real" Obama was on grand display -- an all-too-mortal man, showcasing how little substance and value he has to offer.

Obama's political irrelevance has now become so obvious that on the night of his infamous jobs speech the GOP didn't even feel the need to offer a rebuttal to his political theater masquerading as a major policy speech.  Even the scheduling of his all-important imperial oration had to take a backseat to a football game and a GOP primary debate on MSNBC.

But far worse than enduring those indignities, during his grand pontification, a unique sound was heard in abundance.  Even the Washington Post's Dana Milbank heard it: laughter.

Perhaps for the very first time in his career, the golden child was openly laughed at -- and deservedly so.  For it wasn't his regurgitated failed statist policies that generated all the derisive mirth; no, they were laughing at him in dismay (perhaps pity?). 

If you watched the debacle, it was understandably difficult not to chuckle, if not laugh out loud, aghast at his impassioned much ado about nothing, grandstanding right there center-stage in democracy's most august venue, as he ridiculously proclaimed that the solution to all of our seemingly insurmountable economic woes was a second helping of his cold leftover failed stimulus stew.

There was no new vision presented, no new ideas, no course correction away from his path of ruin dragging us down in bureaucratic chains over the River Styx into the abyss of the Great Recession, Act 2.  All he pitifully offered was recycled hectoring for more debt, more deficits, more crony capitalism, more union handouts, and more "temporary" payroll tax and unemployment gimmicks.

Nevertheless, starkly juxtaposed against all common sense and reality, was displayed the face of failure incarnate, belligerently defiant and not the least bit remorseful over or repentant for the damage he has inflicted upon our country.  Here was the true Saul Alinsky-trained radical, on fire, agitating from the bully pulpit, spewing forth lie upon lie with the vigor of Alinsky's own personal muse, Lucifer himself.

One could almost envision Milton's Lucifer from Paradise Lost defiantly arguing why he would rather be cast out and rule in Hell than to have to humble himself and serve in Heaven.  Not coincidentally, this selfsame mindset is also why committed Marxists would rather drag entire nations into desperate squalor and despair, as long as they get to rule, as opposed to selflessly serving their fellow man by allowing people to flourish and prosper pursuing individual happiness as freemen.

Rest assured: as horrific as this might sound, Obama's tragic performance was in fact a comedy of sorts, albeit of the noir variety.  Yes, the audience laughed and laughed at this most recent episode of Barack's teleprompted clown act, as the finger-wagger-in-chief implored everyone to "stop the political circus."  The profound irony of that line was surely lost on an oblivious Obama.

Obama's newly acquired unelectable status isn't the result of bad focus group testing or polls, or any fund-raising shortfalls, or poor messaging content, or an organizational problem.  No, his political fortunes have now been truncated as a byproduct of the unvarnished revelation of who he really is, resulting in the erosion and ultimate loss of fundamental credibility and his ability to be taken seriously any longer by friend or foe.

Ultimately, while the melodramatic sound and fury of his voice might have been that of the fiery radical-in-chief, his overall countenance has at last been unmasked to be seen as -- no, not that of a devil -- but rather, as that of...oh...Shakespeare described it best in Macbeth:

... a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Could there be a more apropos summation of both the man and his legacy?  "An idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

But isn't labeling someone an "idiot" just childish name-calling?  Not if it's true -- and even worse if it isn't just your adversaries who are saying it.  And therein lies the key distinction.

It's typical for key leaders of all political stripes to be strongly opposed, disagreed with, disparaged, fought tooth and nail, even disliked or vehemently despised by their opponents in the rough-and-tumble blood sport of politics.  But it's vastly different to be considered a "failure," a "loser," a "laughingstock," or "damaged goods" by the general populace, independents, and a rapidly growing number of people in your own party -- especially if these appellations just happen to be substantively true and subsequently become the source of widespread ridicule and laughter (Ref: the fate of Anthony Weiner, and Twitter trend #attackwatch.)  Barack Obama has become all of the above, so perhaps there's an even more appropriate word: pariah.

Barack Obama will therefore not be reelected for the simple reason that, despite all the false hype and marketing, media sycophancy, corporate cronyism, community organizing, special interest-pandering, and union thuggery, and that solely by virtue of his dismal performance in office and the disaster he has wrought upon our people and our progeny, a majority of Americans have come to learn over these past three years that Barack Obama simply isn't a trustworthy man of truth and integrity.  Rather, he's an impotent, naïve leader and an intransigent ideologue; and despite his Ivy League education, he isn't brilliant or even well-informed, and possesses no special wisdom, expertise, common sense, or talents beyond that of a local TV news anchorman empathetically reading a teleprompter with charm and aplomb.  He can't perform messianic miracles; he was not the hope and change he claimed the world was waiting for; nor can he fundamentally transform our country into his own personal Kingdom of Heaven on Earth with social and economic justice for all, forever and ever, Amen.  And any remaining delusion to the contrary, like him, is one hell of a joke.

Robert Gelinas is a technology executive, a novelist, and the publisher of ArcheBooks Publishing (publisher@archebooks.com).