I expressed hope on the eve of his Inauguration that Obama would be a wise and middle/left pragmatic President that would attempt to unite the United States. That hope proved to be false. He has squandered an historic opportunity. He talked a good game during the "transition" and in the days following the inauguration. Unfortunately, as he did during the campaign he said one thing and did another. Oh, he invited some Republicans over to the White House for "photo ops" but he allowed Nancy Palosi and the Democrats to write the stimulus package with little or no input from Republicans. Of 219 Republicans in the House and Senate 216 did not support it. Only three Republicans in the Senate voted for it, the bear minimum to avoid a filibuster.
The stimulus was loaded up with "pork" for the left/liberal constituencies of the Democrat party. It was as if an alcoholic was set loose in a liquor store after being "on the waggon" for 12 years. If he had wanted to he could have worked up a stimulus package that would have had bipartisan support. He could have picked up at least 10 Republicans in the Senate had he worked with John McCain and Lindsy Graham.He needed to do as Bill Clinton did and "triangulate" between the White House, the Democrat leaders in the House and Senate and the moderate Republicans in the Senate.That would have been the smart thing to do and would have been good for him politically and good policy for the County. He needed to bring all the parties together and "roll up their sleeves" and hammer out a compromise stimulus package that would have worked for America. This country in these tough economic times needs a smart stimulus package that would get us out of this recession. Instead, he went into campaign mode and abandoned the legislative process and went to Indiana and Florida for campaign style "town hall meetings." Obama spent so little time actually in the Senate when he was a Senator that he didn't know how to get things done and was "rolled" by Speaker Nancy Palosi and Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid. While Obama was out "campaigning" and attacking Republicans the Democrat leaders met in secret meetings in the middle of the night, without any Republican leaders being present, to hammer out the details of the stimulus package.
We now have the Obama economy . It was purchased with $787 billion dollars of your money..... NO, actually it is a $787 billion dollar IOU signed by you to the Chinese government and others to be paid by our children and grandchildren with interest in generations to come. If it works in the long term Obama and the Democrats will reap the political rewards. If it fails,as I am afraid it will, then the storm of anger will sweep them from office.
The stimulus package will further bloat our already bloated government which is a weight around the neck of our economy. Government will be competing with employers, who actually provide real jobs, for a dwindling supply of money. The small amount of tax cuts will be too little too late. A recession that could have been short will now go on and on and could turn into a long 1930's style DEPRESSION!.If you think government is good at what it does remember your last trip to the DMV. Yes, the Honeymoon is over and welcome to the Obama economy! I feel bad for all of us!
