Since President Obama was sworn into office a year ago, he has constantly referred to the “inherited problems” that former President Bush created.  Whether it’s the economy, the war in Iraq, or bank failure, Obama frequently reminds the American people that he is picking up after the past administration.

   Oh how annoying this blame game gets!

   In any situation, it is easy to shift the blame to someone else and not take the personal responsibility.  But I guess Democrats have always had a problem with personal responsibility.  (Note, some “Republicans” play the same game of shifting responsibility, and they should be ashamed of themselves.)

   Whether or not you “inherited” or “created” the problem, it takes a real man…a real leader…to not pass the buck, but rather accept the problem at hand and resolve to fix it.

   This blog post is not about any one man, but I do want to compare Obama’s blame game to Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett’s efforts in dealing with the budget shortfall for the City of Tulsa.

   It’s been known for a while that the City of Tulsa was coming head on with a significant budget shortfall, though nothing was done to address it.  Now only a month and a half after being sworn in as Mayor, Bartlett is having to make some big decisions.  He has proposed a pay cut for both firemen and police officers.

   Though extremely unpopular (there are some issues politicians should never go after, such as public safety, welfare, and even babies), Barlett is sticking to his guns.  But that’s not the important part.  The most impressive part about all of this is that Barlett is not blaming the previous administration even though he has every right to.

   Whether or not you agree with the solution Bartlett presents, you have to admire that he is not passing the blame.  This leadership quality is often lacking in today’s world.