Reflections on the Budget Deal
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Cave Man (Does It Again)

1 August, 2011
©Pirate Joe


    Well, he (President Obama) did it again. Caved in. To the Tea Partiers.  This has gotten way beyond frustrating; it's depressing and disheartening.

    My questions are: If he is always going to give in, (and he is) why should the Tea Partiers compromise?(under these circumstances, I wouldn't if I were them).  If he is always going to give in, why the hell does he put us through this all the time? Why doesn't he just ask the Republicans/Tea Partiers exactly what they want and have the appropriate legislation drafted?

    Don't give me that crap that he "had no other options". He had the 14th Amendment. But as usual, he pre-empted himself by taking that option off the table in advance. Geezz! At least keep them guessing! At least make them think: "well, we'd better not go too far, or he'll do the 14th Amendment thing". But no.

    It's kind of like getting the drop on Jessie James and then telling him that your gun isn't loaded.

    This is painful for me; I genuinely like President Obama. It is impossible not to like him. He's thoughtful, intelligent, courteous, well-bred and poised. He's an all-around good person, a dignified and effective representative of our country, and a great speech-maker: in short, a person who would make a great friend. Yet I can't let that obfuscate the truth: his presidency is a failure. In one instance after another he throws away his best weapons and cowers before the Republicans, who, in turn, steamroller right over him. I've seen enough! I can no longer bear to look. It's just too damn painful.
    When it comes to political strategising, he just can't. When it comes to taking a principled stand, he waffles. When it comes to making a deal, he gives the store away. When it comes to taking care of his base, there's nobody home and when it comes to change you can believe in, you can forget about it.
    He must have been looking out the window during Horse-trading 101.

    At a time when the Republicans want disparately to prove that government is ineffective and inept, he lends them a helping hand. At a time when we desperately need jobs, Wall Street gets bailed out. At a time when the American public overwhelmingly wants the wars to end, he says: "not so fast". At a time when the middle (and lower) class is in a death spiral, he says "let's do some Republican-style cuts to the programmes that could have helped you; and at a time when a large majority of the American public want to see the rich and the big corporations taxed more, he compromises the issue off the table.

    It's not that he didn't have examples to study, (such as  FDR and LBJ). All he needed to do was to read up on these guys. It's an instruction manual on the presidency, another "The Prince". Just read and do. But no.

    Yes, I'm a political realist. I know that you can't expect anyone to be able to get their way all the time (unless you're the Tea Party). Even starting out with both houses, (of congress) that probably would have been an unfair standard. But I sure did expect him to try. The truth of this is, that that would have been enough for me: put forth a good honest, no holds barred effort and you'll still have my vote, even if it doesn't work out. Lead the charge! But no.

    Now for my own straw poll. Let's talk about all those folks who worked so hard to elect him: a group that included many of my friends. How do they feel? To a one, the response is the same: "I worked hard for him in 2008. But I'm not doing it this time; it's just not worth going trough all that again". I'll vote for him, I suppose, but that's it. Bad news for Barack, or "you don't need a weathervane to know which way the wind blows".
    Those dedicated, hard-working folks were his margin of victory. Without them, what will he do? They might not even bother to vote if the weather is bad. Who can blame them? What did they get for their time and trouble? Rien! Not good. Yes, I was part of that group.

    Things are not about to get better or change. Does anyone out there really think that all of a sudden Barack Obama will turn into "Barry the Tea-Party Slayer"? Not likely. He couldn't do it when he had both houses: is there any way at all he could do it now that he has the Tea Party House? Hell, even John Boehner can't get what he wants.

    Don't forget that the Tea Partiers have a vested interest in making Obama look bad.  They will obviously block any legislation that would make him look effective (and allows him to help people). They don't give a damn about anything except their warped, plutocratic ideology. They have proven that. Now that the Tea Partiers have mired Obama's presidency in the muck, they're going to do their best to keep it there, thereby allowing their presidential nominee to say "just what has he done?"
    Those high unemployment numbers won't help either. It's not pleasant to think of this happening to such a nice man, but the Democratic Party needs another nominee for 2012. Someone who can inspire all those jaded folks who worked so hard for "change you can believe in". This is no easy task. The price of failure is a Republican in the White House.
    The reality of the situation? Most likely, Obama will be the nominee, and we will vote for him under the undying "lesser of two evils" philosophy. In 2008, who'd a thunk it?

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