Barack Obama is no Barack Obama.  When it has been shown there is nothing there -- repeatedly and in a fashion that all but the most devoted minions refuse to see -- it becomes difficult to ignore.  This is not the same man who ran for President in 2008.  He was an illusion then, but today, Americans have no illusions.  "Hope and change" has become "what the hell happened?"

There has been much talk in the press about Clint Eastwood's performance last week at the Republican National Convention, but the honest among them have to admit that the empty chair was a perfect metaphor for Barack Obama -- because there really is not much there.

Politicians are renowned for their ability to talk and talk and talk -- all without saying much.  Yet, wasn't this one supposed to be different?  Wasn't he by now, supposed to have amassed a record of accomplishment that would put mere mortals to shame?  Weren't we readying Mount Rushmore for the man?

In another era, someone might have asked.  "Where's the beef?"  Nowadays, the only beef as far as Barack is concerned is the Wagyu steaks he has flown in for parties at the Whitehouse.

He can't talk about accomplishments, because he has none.  Sure, he passed the Stimulus and Obamacare and Dodd Frank, but it is hard to sell any of this as success when it is all hugely unpopular and terrible policy.  To most Americans, it doesn't compute.

The stimulus was a pork-laden exercise in rewarding backers of Barack through investment in crony capitalist green-energy pipe dreams and transfer payments to cities and states to help avoid having to reckon with their bloated public union payrolls (big Obama supporters).  Because if you vote Barack, you should never have to go back, to a day when government wasn't bleeding the taxpayer dry with exorbitant salaries and pensions for public sector employees -- if there ever was such a time.

So...he didn't talk about the Stimulus, but he did mention his bailout of GM and Chrysler and how they can't make cars fast enough.  Yet...surprisingly, saving GM -- or more precisely the UAW, has cost taxpayers more than $25 billion and GM is headed for bankruptcy, yet again.  He didn't mention that.  But then, why would he?

Obamacare, a multiple thousand page legislation destroying medical care in America, is ever more unpopular by the day.  It turns out, you can't keep your insurance provider, even if you like it, and taking $716 billion out of Medicare cannot be portrayed as good for seniors.  And...shock of all shocks, premiums will not go down and Obama's dream of transformation will cost taxpayers trillions to implement.  But at least it's named after him...there is that.

He didn't mention Obamacare, but he did talk about sick and dying kids who are now at least happy to be sick and dying with him as President.  You see it is all relative.

Dodd Frank, another multiple thousand page legislation, has solved nothing, except making it impossible for people to get mortgages and businesses to get financing.

He didn't mention Dodd Frank, but he did mention greedy banks.  Those bastards ruined everything -- don't you know?

The economy -- he couldn't brag about the longest sustained period of 8%+ unemployment since World War II, or the weakest recovery from a recession since World War II, or declining incomes and falling family net worth.  And what could he say about the price of gasoline?  The "all of the above" trope is hard to support since he canceled the Keystone XL pipeline.

The economy and unemployment were unmentioned except to say we are on the right track -- because of him, but then you knew that.  Didn't you?

What about spending, having blown out the budget and added $5 trillion to the national debt in less than 3 ½ years?  It would have been hard to paint that as anything but failure.

Yet, he talked about tackling deficits...at some later date.  Got off his back...can't you see he is busy transforming the world?

He couldn't talk about leading the Democratic Party to the presidency and super majorities in both the House and Senate.  The Republicans took the House in 2010, in an admitted "shellacking," and will probably take the Senate in less than 2 months.  With his record and lack of ideas, it's amazing he is still competitive in the Presidential race.  Then again, we only have the main stream media's word for that, as well.

It would almost be easy to feel sorry for Barack Obama having to give his acceptance speech with the record he has.  Well...Americans might feel sorry for him, if he hadn't spent the last 3 ½ years torturing us with demagoguery, bad policy, overbearing regulation and the demonization of dissent...all while he partied and played golf like it was 1999. 

What could he say?  The nation got an acceptance speech from our President which lists no accomplishments and no plan for a way "forward."  He talked about who he is -- or at least who he pretends to be.  He talked about what he wants America to be, without giving any details for how he plans to make that happen.

Of course, no Barack Obama speech would be complete without him saying ala Richard Nixon.  "I'm the President."  And he did.  For such a disappointing leader, he refuses to disappoint -- at least on that front.

You see, "forward" is a dream, much like Obama himself.  With nothing to tout or propose, he talked about the vision.  Many will find his speech compelling, because millions believed the dream that was Barack Obama, and many still do.  But when you have nothing to brag about and no idea what to do, how long can Americans make believe there is any reason to give this man another term?  Eastwood was right, when someone doesn't do the job, sometimes, you have to let them go.

Certainly, the media will be awash with plaudits from pundits for a speech well-delivered and well-received. 

Yet, in reality, it was a speech from an alternate universe, where Barack is still king, where all that ails America was caused by those who came before and everything now is on the right track, because of him.  And because of him, through him and in him, the unity of the nation is intact -- forever and ever.

He has no plan for the future, but he knows his opponent is scary.  "Vote for me.  I may be terrible, but the other guy is worse," is not a reason to give the man 4 more years to fail further.

In the end, it was an empty speech delivered by an empty suit. 

It's sad that Barack Obama turned out to be an empty chair, but he built that.  He has no one to blame but himself.