I don't know about you, but I felt good to see our president in Europe toasting with the Irish in Moneygal, from where the great grandfather of his great grandfather, on his mother's side, left more than a century and a half for the United States. And with the queen and princes and princesses in London, not sticking his foot in his mouth, and early surrounded by the public's affection and appreciation.

Besides, the president and his wife looked fabulous in their formal attire.

But what made me feel even better was, first, to imagine Sarah Palin or Newt Gingrich in the same situation and then to immediately erase that image and the sense of nausea it brought on.

I imagine that Barack and Michelle must also be feeling well in Europe, because it seems that right now they are better appreciated on the other side of the ocean than in their own land.

But that's the "American way," respect/disrespect, love/hate with their political leaders.

Here things are reaching a point that if they continue soon no one with two fingers' worth of intelligence would put in a bid for the presidency. We are already witnessing this. With a little bit more than a year until the 2012 presidential election, the Republicans still don't have a viable candidate who could defeat Obama. The more "normal" possible candidates keep dropping like flies – some declaring they do not want to expose their families to the meat grinder that has become the interminable electoral campaign for president.

Part of the problem is the ignorance and lack attention by the majority of voters, who really are unaware of the architecture of their government. Some believe the president is omnipotent and therefore responsible for the garbage not being collected or for the public schools in New Jersey falling apart, because the students were absent on the day that the teacher spoke about the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Others fell asleep on their desks during the explanation on the services and responsibilities of the state and municipal legislatures.

The midterm elections in 2010 showed this ignorance and now residents of Arizona, Wisconsin and many other states are paying the price under anti-immigrant laws, laws against women's rights, and inhumane budget cuts. And in Washington, the president's goals appear diminished by the lack of supporting votes in congress.

Of course, for many, these contradictions resonate in the images abroad that we see on our television screens.

Why doesn't Obama pass the DREAM Act instead of being in Ireland and talking up the benefits of immigration? Why doesn't he lower the price of gasoline in New York instead of drinking champagne with royalty? Why doesn't he come to change the bulb on the lampost in front of my house that broke more than three weeks ago?

I don't know about you, but if I were Obama, I would stay in Ireland.