Does president really “know nothing”?

We heard it over and over again during the presidential campaign. It was Mr. Obama’s mantra, “If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it. Period.” “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Period.” “Health insurance costs for a family of four will drop by $2,500 annually.”

And of course we all know what’s happening — policies are being canceled at an alarming rate, people are learning they won’t be able to keep their doctors, and premiums are skyrocketing. No problem though, just shop for a new plan on the government website. The president said it would be just like shopping for a TV on Amazon.

Wait a minute, the site isn’t working? A site we paid a company millions of dollars to develop isn’t working? How could he have known?

But let’s not be too harsh on Mr. Obama — he probably just didn’t know. He didn’t know about Fast and Furious, and neither did his attorney general. He had no idea what happened in Benghazi and apparently still doesn’t. He had no clue that the IRS was harassing conservative groups until he heard it on the news. He certainly didn’t know that his NSA was spying on our allies and listening in on phone calls of their leaders.

Why am I reminded of Sgt. Schultz on the old “Hogan’s Heroes” TV show whose tag line was, “I know nothing.” The state of Illinois has given the U.S. Abraham Lincoln, known affectionately as Honest Abe. Illinois is the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, The Great Communicator. Illinois has now given us a man who may go down in history as Baloney Barack or the Great Prevaricator.

Jim Osterhout

Palatine