One of the more destructive and despotic Roman emperors of all time, Caracalla, was followed by an able fellow by the name of Macrinus. Caracalla had been a bad guy who had not only robbed and outraged the masses for years, he also insulted and picked fights with every single one of Romeﾂ痴 neighbors, so when he became emperor himself, Macrinus spent a great deal of time apologizing to, and paying off, all of Caracallaﾂ痴 enemies, especially the foreign ones.

Before long, it started to sound less like he was apologizing for Caracallaﾂ痴 behavior, and more like he was apologizing for Romeﾂ痴 behavior. The Romans quickly decided that, even if Caracalla had been a jerk, their new emperor should spend less time criticizing the empire's past behavior, and more time defending its honor. In bending over to anyone and everyone who had a beef with Rome, he was making the empire seem kind of lame, and weak. So, the Romans chopped his head off and put Caracallaﾂ痴 nephew on the throne.

On a related note, I wonder if Obama is a student of history, and if he considers the possibility that the upcoming elections may be the electoral equivalent of a beheading by his own citizens. Sadly, I suspect that our current president has the misguided belief that he is somehow outside of history. Itﾂ痴 a common affliction among people who spend too much time reading their own press clippings.

I'm not implying that Bush was a despot like Caracalla, but maybe I am suggesting that Obama is spending more time and effort trying to impress people who, by their nature, will just never be impressed with America in general, while disregarding the people he presumes to lead.

Perhaps the biggest irony is that the First Lady has only been proud of America for the two years when it has had the President that insults it the most.