February 04, 2009
If the dog catches the car...
It's not just that this [stimulus] plan is a political disaster...but that he isn't doing anything else. During his first 100 days George W. Bush was pushing through--or pushing for--tax cuts, No Child Left Behind, SS Reform, abortion limits, CFR, missile defense, killing Kyoto, the FBI, a hemispheric free trade zone, attacks on Saddam Hussein, etc. Mr. Obama, by contrast, is doing just one thing and doing that badly...I often think about the speculation of Christopher Hitchens, that Obama had no expectation of winning the nomination on this go-round. Now he's a dog in the embarrassing position of having caught the car he was chasing. And he's doubly hampered because, I speculate, he's never really dreamed of doing anything. He has no cause; there's nothing he believes in. He's like a talented writer who has nothing to say.
Now me, I'm a nobody, but I often think of things I'd do if I had the power. Because I care, because there are many things that I consider bigger than me, and worth sacrificing for. I'm sure I'd make a lousy leader of anything, but if I was suddenly catapulted into a position of power, I'd start scribbling a list of things I would like to do, and I'd quickly have a a page full.
And the "stimulus" plan isn't even Obama's--it's Pelosi's, gawd help us. I could come up with an interesting stimulus plan, so why can't Obama? Absurd. The guy's an über-nihilist.
George W Bush in the Texas Air National Guard
Update: sometimes when my daughter's in a certain state of mind she signs her e-mails: "flaily flaily." I thought of that, and then Obama, and now I can't think of the poor guy without "flaily flaily."
When BHO was elected, I thought we were screwed for sure. I dared not hope he would show his lack of depth so quickly. I now have Hope for Change!
Posted by: Bill at February 4, 2009 02:58 PMYeah...Regime Change.
Posted by: doug in colorado at February 4, 2009 03:58 PMIt would be just and fair to say,
"Let them eat Steak!"
Folks in Kentucky are still freezing to death a week after the ice storm...and Obama is watching the SuperBowl, turning up his thermostat, and eating steak.
Posted by: doug in colorado at February 4, 2009 04:05 PMMy biggest concern right now is with all the retreads from the Clinton administration showing up in Obama's administration. Will Monica Lewinsky return as HHS secretary? She is certainly as qualified as Daschle, unless of course, she paid her taxes. Or better yet, "Chief Performance Officer"; let your imagination run wild.
Posted by: John in Dublin CA at February 5, 2009 12:08 AMI'm still trying to come up with the right term for Obama. I have been refering to him as a political opportunist, but that's not quite right. I'm still searching, but I'm migrating toward "Zelig" (another Woody Allen movie). From the movie synopsis...
...a nondescript man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people who surround him. He soon gains international fame as a "human chameleon".
Posted by: Mike Plaiss at February 6, 2009 06:58 AM"Chameleon," yeah. Or sometimes I've read of cases where guys fake a career for a while, and convince people they are a lawyer or a surgeon or something...
Or maybe he's like the double in Kagemusha
Posted by: John Weidner at February 6, 2009 07:27 AMUncle Cletus always said " If things go poorly for you, you can usually find the cause in the mirror"
Posted by: Mr. Bubba at February 7, 2009 07:33 AM
