The Republicans warned us. The other Democratic candidates warned us. Obama has never run anything!I chose to overlook the lack of experience, preferring to focus on the message. I was heartened when he surrounded himself with people of experience. Of course I made the same error in judgement with the Bush administration. Cheney. Rumsfeld. Men with vast experience in more than one administration. Look what that got us!
I never would have anticipated the problems Obama's choices have had in paying their taxes. All I had to do was look back at the Clinton administration where several of his nominees ran into the same road blocks. In my version of hope, I'd have thought the nominees would have learned! Oh well. I also remember that Clinton's entire eight years was a constant campaign for one thing or another.
I hope that isn't the model Obama intends to follow. Let's face it, the stimulus bill is a bad one. I'm disgusted that the Democrats and Republicans can't sit down together and work out what it's supposed to be. But then I'm giving them credit which is not due. We're asking politicians to make tough economic decisions. It's like asking Bacchus to analyze what's wrong with him and tell us how to fix it. It's that ludicrous.
I also fault Obama for not laying out guidelines in the first place rather than turning it over to Congress and saying "bring me a bill." That is not leadership. I also fault him for not going through it himself and striking the non-stimulus measures.
So tomorrow he's going to take his big plane and head out to see the people. I wish him well because support for this monstrosity is eroding and all the slick rhetoric in the world can't break it down into convincingly understandable parts. Because there are none. And Congress won't step up to the plate and do what's needed to be done. No matter what the Senate sends back to the house Nancy Pelosi will have her way with it.
As an aside, I worry when I learn former Marine General Anthony Zinni was offered the Ambassadorship to Iraq by both National Security Advisor James Jones and confirmed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, only to learn in an article in the Washington Post the position was given to an outgoing Assistant Secretary of State for Asia! What a way to find out you've been shafted! Just what's the story here??
This is not only a rocky start, but a near disastrous one. Will the ship of state right itself? Does it have a Captain? Maybe we should find Jack Sparrow. At least he has a compass!
4 comments:
I know next-to-nothing about American politics, but I get the feeling that Americans are becoming disenchanted!!! I feel the problem is that Obama was put on too high a pedestal in the first place! The jobs he has to tackle are vast and he hasn't even been in charge for two months yet!
The thing that really disgusted me was the way McCain said, "This is not a stimulus package, it's a spending package." The president then had to explain to the old geezer that a stimulus package IS a spending package.
Let's give this president a chance, folks.
If we had elected McCain, he still would have been sitting around scratching his head and saying, "I know nothing about economics".
You must have loved last nights speech. Like a little petulant boy..."the other guy is the problem". Let's threaten the American people...ad nauseum. This is governing?? And beside, Obamas hour long rant really messed up the TV schedule. Clearly, I much prefer mindless drivel to being threatened and patronised. Deep sigh. CU
$3 Trillion !!! Pased the senate today. Just exactly where will this obscene program come from? Rhetorical question...plain ole working stiffs, like you and me.
CU
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