During the past four days, President Obama has made a tremendous effort to present and sell his dream for America and this country’s future.

First came his State of the Union address to Congress and millions of television viewers followed by stops at Boise State University and Kansas University. He makes it clear he intends to spend the remaining years of his presidency hammering home his concerns and goals for those identified as “middle class” Americans.

It is difficult to argue with many of Obama’s ideas because a large majority of Americans want better schools, expanded educational opportunities at a lower cost, better and less costly health care, a strong national economy, better wages, equal opportunities and a more functional federal government, plus a strong military, a respected leader in Washington and an America that is respected throughout the world.

Obama is a superb speaker, and his fans and supporters accept his statements as gospel. He selects his audiences wisely, and this week’s schedule of talks before university audiences in Boise and Lawrence was sure to present local and national pictures of thousands of enthusiastic, adoring followers.

Again, he is a master at the podium and he delivers his message in a slick, polished manner from his teleprompters. He is good and effective, far better than any of his Republican opponents — so good that he is able to sell his message even though there is reason to question its accuracy or whether he is presenting only the favorable side of a situation or condition.

When he talks about unemployment numbers, he does not include the millions of Americans who have given up looking for employment. He talks about the reduced threat of terrorism when incidents in France, Nigeria, Syria, Yemen and Iran offer evidence of growing threats and that our national antiterrorism experts say the dangers are greater today.

He doesn’t mention al-Qaida, the Taliban, Boko Haram, ISIS or radical Islam. The nuclear development program in Iran has not been curtailed, and Iran engineers reportedly have developed a massive missile.

Obama paints a pretty picture about this nation’s economy and, yet, others claim the “recovery” is weak, pointing out that median American household income has dropped. Various reports claim there is a record number of Americans classified as living in poverty and that 15 percent more people receive food stamps today than when Obama moved into the White House.

There are other discouraging numbers, such as the massive and growing national debt, which seems to go unnoticed or is considered unimportant.

One of the problems is that many in the national media either cover up many of the serious problems facing this country or try to give Obama a passing grade suggesting he is not getting sufficient support from his Republican opponents.

There is far too much finger-pointing, but the record shows the past several years have been close to the least productive in congressional history. What are the chances of much improvement when Obama promises to veto any bills sent to him that he does not favor? There is no compromise because it’s his way or the highway.

The picture of America that Obama likes to paint is flawed because it is incomplete and he often uses the wrong ingredients in achieving his colors. He doesn’t tell the whole story.

It’s good that Obama came to Lawrence and KU. It’s understandable that he enjoyed a highly favorable, maybe even a gullible, audience. It’s questionable, however, whether many of those in his Lawrence audience or those in Boise or those who viewed him on television for the State of the Union message were swayed to change their support, or opposition for the man.

Unfortunately, for an individual occupying the most powerful elective office in the world, Obama is looked to as more of a partisan politician rather than a statesman, and growing numbers question whether he is leveling with the public.

One has to wonder what is in store for this country, college students and all, during Obama’s last two years in office when he doesn’t have to worry about pleasing the public and winning votes. Will the country be governed by cooperative, productive efforts in Washington between Congress and the White House, or will executive orders be the rule or action of the day?