Lots of perplexed Americans are asking the question, “How did we get here?”

They ask how is it that a rich, powerful and generally happy country that was chugging along so smoothly in the 21st century has almost overnight become an economic, social and ideological train wreck.

It’s a fair question – and the answer has little to do with the pandemic and the collateral damage we’ve done to ourselves with lockdowns and the war on COVID.

Today, the country is divided into dozens of red-blue factions who argue bitterly about everything from federal spending and abortion to oil pipelines, gun control, vaccines and “corrective” gender surgery for 12-year-olds.

The major liberal media have become shameless lapdogs of the Democrats in power in Washington, D.C.

Comedians are being cancelled for being incorrectly funny. Future U.S. Supreme Court justices can’t – or won’t – define the word “woman.”

Our great and special country has never been perfect, obviously. For starters, ask Native Americans, Blacks, women and gays.

But 2022 America has gone mad – in every sense of the word. And the person we can pin much of the blame on is ….

Barack Obama.

In 2008 the sainted liberal from Chicago cruised into the White House on the ideal of hope and change, his powerful oratory and the promise of a better, colorblind and more equal future for all Americans.

But once in office, as his big dreams evaporated, he lit the fires and fanned the flames of much of the political insanity and negative feelings about America we are suffering with today.

For example, Obama was the first president, in my lifetime who openly criticized specific people in the population.

“You didn’t build that” he told businesspeople who’ve started successful companies.

“The police acted stupidly” I think he said when criticizing the Boston cops who arrested Professor Henry Louis Gates for “breaking in” to his own house.

The whole “hate the police” theme – which morphed during the Trump years into the “Defund Police” campaign – was essentially sparked by Obama’s attitude about police and his ignoring of the gang violence wracking cities like his hometown.

Meanwhile, Obama’s wife Michelle was the first First Lady to say publicly she was not proud of America.

And when Barack went off to tour Europe, he made it a point to publicly apologize for America’s past failings.

But it’s now clear that the worst thing Obama inflicted on the country in the long run was Joe Biden.

Instead of his many possible but now forgotten VP picks, Obama chose a long-time, washed-up, gaffe-prone, “moderate” hack Democrat and failed presidential wannabe from the who-cares-state of Delaware.

Sen. “Amtrak” was carrying around a career’s worth of bad bipartisan baggage.

Friend of KKK alums like Sen. Robert Byrd, foe of busing for school integration, plagiarizer, hawkish on wars in Iraq and other Middle East places, hard guy on urban crime, mis-handler of the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings – Biden held a bunch of positions that simultaneously offended or embarrassed his friends and enemies.

Biden was the booby prize of VP candidates in 2008 – and we can thank Obama for making it possible for Old Joe to eventually become the booby prize of American presidents in 2020.

President Biden – who some argue is really the front man for Barack Obama’s third term – is a mouthpiece for harmful leftwing energy and environmental policies that the “Old Joe” of old would never push.

Sadly, we’re stuck with Biden for two more years, if he can last that long.

But there’s hope for America to become great again — again.

In the fall Republicans will retake Congress. Obama’s socialist ideas and negative attitude about America will die the political deaths they’ve always deserved.

And we’ll never hear of them again – until 2024, when Democrats put Michelle Obama of Martha’s Vineyard at the top of their ticket.

Yikes.

Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan, is an author, speaker and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation. Send comments to reagan@caglecartoons.com.