Presidential Thoughts

I'm a supporter of Obama, in case anyone wondered. I don't think he can do no wrong, but in any case where I have to judge what he would likely do against what I think a Republican would likely do, where there's a difference in the outcome of the proposed actions, odds are extremely good that I'll be in favor of what he'd do. I think he can be wrong, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. I think that a Republican can be right, but they have to prove it to me.

So it frosts me to read articles about how people are questioning the approaches that he is taking in the administration of government. Some opinions cited in such articles, of course, are from poorly informed people -- the kind who say Get Government's Hands Off Medicare-- while others are simply trash, listed only because the givers are well-known. I'd ask the milkman, if I had one, before I'd give credence to anything that Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani, or any of their ilk thinks. I do honestly believe that if any of them saw a building on fire, the likelihood of them reporting it depends on whether anyone they cared for was in it. Poor folks? Well, heck, they were likely squatters anyway. That's not to say that I am inherently opposed to Republicans, or classic Republican values. Some of those values, such as fiscal sobriety, appeal to me a great deal. Not to the exclusion of compassion, which is how the current Republican vanguard sees it, but otherwise, sure. Good idea. But fiscal conservatism isn't always the best approach to a problem. The staggering amount of money that Obama threw at the financial crisis was likely warranted. I don't see any way that it could have been resolved as effectively as it has been otherwise. There are likely people who are saying Yes, but smaller, targeted sums would have been more effective, less wasteful, and I think those people are correct. But, as Bruce Wayne said in one of the Batman films "People are dying. What would you have me do?" The Republican answer would have been Cut Taxes Some More, Especially On The Wealthy. The Democratic answer was Fire Up The Money Machine, Even If It Means Undeserving People Get Much Of It. That's what they did, and it's working. I believe that without that approach, the recession would still be hugely with us.

Of course, that was then, and this is now. People have selective memories. They remember that AIG made huge amounts, got bailed out, and promptly spent some of it on themselves. When the average person thinks about that, the idea that any of that money eventually made it back into the lending pool, and then to companies that then hired them -- well, that's a long stretch. All they see are fat cats gorging on government funds, and they know who gave them the money.

It doesn't help Obama's case that he's lost his voice. He seems unable to speak clearly, movingly these days. He sounds less like the man who joked that he'd never had a helicopter before, but Marine One certainly seemed fine to him, and more like a man who doesn't even notice that he has a 747 sitting and waiting on his pleasure while the TSA is still harassing ordinary passengers trying to get to their crowded, underserved, tiny seats in coach. He seems out of touch. Given that I cut him slack all the time, I think well, he's been pretty busy, lots on his plate, and more than one plate, too. Still, I think, I miss Obama. I miss the guy that was smart, obviously brighter, more compassionate, more insightful than the rest. The guy who has poetry in his words, cadence in his voice.

I'd like to see him, hear from him, again. I want him to make his case, to show why he's right. (And not to 'be clear', so much; as an article in today's Washington Post points out, it's not only a long-time crutch, it's a signal that what he's about to say isn't going to be all that clear. Need to work on that, Barack.)

And, as regards the Republicans: I'm thinking: maybe its time to donate more money to OFA.