I officially retired from the US Army on 1 August 2004 and vividly recall sitting and watching the 2004 Democratic National Committee convention. At that convention, a fella named Barack Hussein Obama gave the keynote speech. He had just become a State Senator in Illinois. Angela and I listened to a rousing, emotional, rhetorical speech using the southern pastoral iambic pentameter rhythm and said to each other…this is the guy the Democrats are going to run for President. We were correct in our assessment from 2004. We all witnessed a meteoric rise of someone whom we had no idea of who they were. As a matter of fact, Obama once quipped that he was a blank slate upon which people could draw upon. What does that mean?

During his presidential campaign, you were not allowed to question him, even when he admitted to the now deceased Joe the Plumber, his belief in “spreading the wealth around.”

And so it was, in no time flat, this relatively unknown master of rhetoric went from State Senator to US Senator, where he mostly voted present and never sponsored any major legislation, to President of the United States of America. He was brought into office with high hopes of putting the past into the past and going towards a better future for America. Heck, Obama was given a great participation trophy called the Nobel Peace Prize for doing absolutely nothing. Was it awarded based on what they thought he would do?

Obama’s first trip as President included a speech at the University of Cairo where he demanded members of the Muslim Brotherhood be seated front and center. There were many other indicators that this would not be the “hopey changey” that had been guaranteed. Yet, people still believed.

Obama’s first midterm election in 2010 witnessed a massive loss in the U.S. House of Representatives, yours truly being a part of that shift. Obama then realized that the government had to be weaponized against his opposition, the TEA Party. We all learned about Lois Lerner and the IRS targeting. Obama won reelection in 2012 even after making the most offensive and condescending statement to American entrepreneurs, “If you own a business, you didn’t build that.” And when it comes to divisive speech and rhetoric, well, it was Obama who talked about “not bringing a knife to a gunfight,” “punish your political enemies,” and “Republicans can get to the back of the bus.” Any and every statement, policy failure, and unconstitutional or corrupt incidents were dismissed. The response? “You’re a racist.” Operation Fast and Furious? Racist. Creation and rise of ISIS? You’re a racist. Economy flailing? Racist.

At the end of eight years, it was decided that we then needed a woman president, following the leftist identity politics. Oops, that plan did not work out for the progressive socialist left, namely Barack Hussein Obama. His legacy was interrupted, and he was not happy about it. When was the last time a former President stayed in Washington, DC? Heck, Harry Truman drove away. Obama stayed and made it his mission to run a shadow government and a political insurgency against the Trump administration—something he had done as President using the Patriot Act against the Trump campaign. Non-debatable.

In 2020, Obama got his vindication, his former Vice President, Joe Biden, won the presidency by not being visible. The left used COVID-19 as a means to an end. Remember Obama’s former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s words, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Let’s not forget Obama’s interview, where he joked about having someone as a frontman with an earpiece and him giving directions.

And so it was with the Biden-Harris administration—a continuation of Obama’s policies. It was many of the Obama acolytes as members of the Biden-Harris administration. Do not be fooled; the Biden-Harris administration picked up the mantle of advancing what Barack Hussein Obama wanted—then the train came off the tracks. The American people got a full-bore taste of what leftist, Marxist policies are all about. And then the fella with the earpiece practically collapsed on the debate stage. Obama decided to pull Biden, but the ensuing choice was forced upon him, a very disliked and quite incompetent Vice President Kamala Harris.

However, the great master of rhetoric believed that empty, emotional, and nonsensical words could win the day again. Instead of hope and change and forward (a Marxist/Communist political term), this time, we got “Joy.” Joy doesn’t work at the grocery store line or the gas pump, and it certainly ain’t working at the border.

Now, Barry Soetoro, one of his many names, is angry. It was recently displayed in his despicable and disparaging rant against Black men in Philadelphia. How dare you “Brothas” not listen to me and defy my will…be glad Michelle is not here. Huh? So, the crowned prince of progressive socialism is now relegated to anger, threats, and demanding obedience.

What is also on the ballot this November 5th? It is the fall of Barack Hussein Obama. He will be cast into irrelevance and disregard. There will be no rebounding in 2028 and his shadow government run from his residence in DC will not undermine a second Donald Trump presidency. The whole persuasion of identity politics will have lost its edge and advantage. Obama’s rise and fall is much like that of Icarus, son of Daedalus. His wise father warned Icarus as they escaped imprisonment with crafted wings, to not fly too close to the sun. Icarus disobeyed; the wax that held his wings together melted, and he crashed into the sea and drowned.

Barack Hussein Obama mounted wings, not those of God as mentioned in Isaiah 40:31, but rather those of man. He rose and rose but flew too close to the sun, basking in his own self and not realizing that slowly his wax was melting. Obama is now in a freefall descent, with no control, and about to crash into the sea of divisiveness he created.

My Dad, just as Daedalus advised Icarus, taught me a very important lesson. “Boy, never read your own press and never drink your own tub water, lest you get full of yourself.” Perhaps if Obama had a real American Dad like mine who, born in 1920, endured tough times, served his country in World War II, and set an example as a strong Black man role model, he would not be experiencing the fall.

Steadfast and Loyal.

This article originally appeared at TownHall.com.