Last week the Wall Street Journal remembered a fallen Marine known as the "Lion of Fallujah." The heroic Maj. Douglas A. Zembiec kept a notebook compiling various axioms and thoughts, one of which was read at his 2007 memorial service, as it was emblematic of the way in which he lived his life:

Be a man of principle. Fight for what you believe in. Keep your word. Live with integrity. Be brave. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Serve your country.

Teach. Mentor. Give something back to society. Lead from the front. Conquer your fears. Be a good friend. Be humble and be self-confident.

Appreciate your friends and family. Be a leader and not a follower. Be valorous on the field of battle. And take responsibility for your actions.

Zembiec entitled this creed, "Principles my father taught me."

As I read these words, I thought of the president. Not because these words depict the man occupying the White House, but because none of these virtues can be associated with Barack Obama. And I wondered whether being raised without a father nearby to instill strong values and serve as a positive example produced the unprincipled man who has set out to transform America.

Much has been written about Obama's past and what factors led to his anti-American values. Dinesh D'Souza has produced books and a movie explaining the negative influences on Obama's psyche, including his Kenyan father's absence. But one would think that overcoming hardships as he has would have left Obama with some humility that the grave responsibilities associated with the presidency include setting an example for all Americans -- not just those he deems worthy of government handouts living in "Promise Zones."

Alas, let's take a moment and look at the example that Barack Obama has set for young Americans with hopes and dreams of making it big, immigrants who have traversed great distances and endured great hardships in order to succeed in the land of opportunity, and even politicians and media personalities. Obama has bowed, hugged, and whispered sweet nothings to dictators, dissed and belittled America and its citizens in far-off lands, and lied to the electorate about everything from their national security to the future of their healthcare. He uses Chicago-style mobster tactics to silence his critics and throws lifelong friends and colleagues under the proverbial bus whenever politically expedient.

He has used the White House and Air Force One as his own private playgrounds hosting concerts and parties, attending fundraisers, and playing 160 rounds of golf and untold numbers of basketball games -- all with the rich and famous. He has stoked racial tensions denouncing anyone with white skin who has a conflict with a black person while playing the race card at every ill-opportune moment possible. He has denounced and over-regulated every major jobs-producing industry from automobile and coal to finance and healthcare. He has ignored the constitutional limitations of office and abused his power like a third-world dictator. And he put our soldiers in harm's way in a war he had no intention of winning.

Obama is teaching generations of American citizens that laziness and self-entitlement are virtues, success and wealth are only acceptable when in the hands of powerful liberals, starting a business is not worth the effort, big government is the answer, and rich people are the root of all evil. He is teaching class resentment, racial hostility, and sexual disorientation while instigating anti-American resentment across the globe.

What he has not exemplified and taught the citizenry is that America is (or at least was) a great nation because it was founded on Judeo-Christian values that led to its superior culture, power, military, economy, and education, and healthcare systems. "Hope and change" was misunderstood by an electorate who did not realize what transforming America truly meant.

But what Obama is really doing, with the help of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel, and the entire MSNBC staff, is setting back black causes decades. There is no need to go back to his ridiculous comments about the white cops arresting his black friend or that Trayvon Martin could have been his son. The empirical evidence that his policies are failing his people (as Eric Holder likes to call them) is borne out in the unemployment (black unemployment is twice that of whites) and crime rates (49% of black men and 40% of white men have been arrested by the age of 23) that are disproportionately high for blacks.

But Obama's legacy will not just be felt by black Americans. Under Obama, a record number of Americans receive food stamps and the poverty level has broken a 50-year record with approximately 50 million people living below the poverty line. One of the leading causes of poverty and increased crime rates can be attributed to the fact that over 40% of the children born in the U.S. are born to unwed mothers. As Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation wrote:

The collapse of marriage in low-income communities has played a substantial role in the declining capacity for self-support. In 1963, 6% of American children were born out of wedlock. Today the number stands at 41%. As benefits swelled, welfare increasingly served as a substitute for a bread-winning husband in the home.

According to the Heritage Foundation's analysis, children raised in the growing number of single-parent homes are four times more likely to be living in poverty than children reared by married parents of the same education level.

Children who grow up without a father in the home are also more likely to suffer from a broad array of social and behavioral problems. The consequences continue into adulthood: Children raised by single parents are three times more likely to end up in jail and 50% more likely to be poor as adults.

There is a breakdown of the family in this country and Obama remains silent. On an issue on which Obama could easily lead from the front, he is once again not leading at all. And his cradle-to-grave welfare policies only exacerbate the problem by providing antimarriage incentives to recipients.

What does Obama speak of constantly? Inequality and wealth redistribution with a touch of race-baiting for good measure. Michelle Obama spends her time in her vegetable garden dictating to America's youth what they may eat and to "get moving." While obesity is a problem, it is not what is leading to America's decline. The destruction of the family most certainly is a contributing factor.

When not on vacation, Michelle should venture into low-income areas and explain to young people how hard work pays off and that there are no free rides. As Colorado and Washington legalize marijuana, she should explain to kids that membership in a "Choom Gang" will only lead to failure (unless you're the self-entitled Barry who rose to fame and fortune in the days of affirmative action and white guilt).

Obama should take to the airwaves and denounce anyone who participates in a "knockout" game and specifically call out the black community responsible for its prevalence. He should urge families to work hard, stick together, stay in school, give up drugs and government dependence, support the military, understand the Constitution, and love America and its exceptionalism.

Unfortunately, the Obamas were never taught those lessons so how can we possibly expect them to help instill them in our young people. Maj. Zembiec wrote of the principles his father taught him. Barack Obama wrote of fabricated dreams from his. One loved America, the other does not. One was taught morals, ethics, and self-respect ultimately leading to the development of a hero. The other, not so much.

Charles Krauthammer wrote that when judging others, "Know what they do and judge them by their works." History will look back at Obama's presidency and pass judgment based on actions that are borne from a lack of principles, humility, and integrity.