Thanks once again to Robert Stacy and Smitty for the Rule Five callout!  Be sure to check out their extensive Rule Five compendium at the link.

So, is the Obama Presidency over?  Given the explosion in debt, the vast overreaches in executive authority and the lip-service approach to basic individual liberties, this Administration may not be “over” for decades.  Reason.com author Ira Stoll has some thoughts on the topic.  Excerpt:

We all will be living with the effects of his presidency for many years to come, long after the Obamas have retired to New York City and Martha’s Vineyard. Senator Rubio and Mr. Todd look at the president’s sagging poll numbers and see an impotent lame duck. But the reality is that even if President Obama doesn’t accomplish another new thing in the next two years, the actions he has already taken make him one of the most consequential presidents ever.

Over? Far from it.

The federal debt held by the public has grown on President Obama’s watch to about $12.6 trillion from about $6.8 trillion. The Obama presidency won’t be “over” until that nearly $6 trillion in new debt is either paid back or defaulted on. As a percentage of gross domestic product, the federal debt held by the public has soared to 73.8 percent today from 43.8 percent before he took office. The Obama presidency won’t be “over” until that figure returns to the status quo ante. Don’t hold your breath.

Let’s be honest, at least amongst ourselves:  That figure (debt) will never return to the status quo ante.  It is the nature of government to grow ever larger and more intrusive, and our Republic has very likely reached a tipping point.  We may not be able to undo the coming fiscal calamity without hyper-inflation or repudiation of the Imperial Federal debt, both courses of action which would effectively destroy the United States as the leading economic power in the world.

There is a third option, of course.  It may not – may not – be too late to grow our way out of this.  But increasingly it looks like a return to fiscal sanity and a responsible monetary policy on the part of the Imperial Federal government is out of the question.

A lot hinges on the next two elections, and a lot can happen in the next two years; but republics rarely reverse course once started down this path.

And that path tends to end with tyranny.