What's Happening In Politics?

Good grief.

Am I about getting sick of seeing President Obama, day after day, pursuing the Republicans like a jilted lover who can never get the message? At this point I wouldn't doubt it if he's got a ladder up against their house at night, peeking in their windows. The guy cares more about what the Republicans think about him than he does us. It's getting ridiculous.

He needs to get the message. They are actively working for his failure, the failure of his agenda, and the frittering away of his power and legacy. Actively, Mr. President, as in you down for the count.

Just do something, steamroll them, get the best of them. See those things dangling between their legs? Cut them off! I thought the President of the United States was "the most powerful man in the world." But here we have the daily spectacle of all these Lilliputians tying him down and dancing a jig on his forehead. I'm getting downright sick of it.

Then in other news, speaking of nut jobs, we have Sarah Palin out there running for president. She actually said it'd be "absurd" for her not to be considering a run for the presidency. I too often think of the word "absurd" in relation to Sarah Palin as president.

It's funny, I heard a quote she gave, something to the effect of, if she were president, she vowed that she wouldn't know any more about any issue than the common person knows! I would guess that'd be true, but it's a heck of a vow to make. Just speaking for myself, I want the president to know more about policies, intelligence, and all the rest than I know. I mean, I'm not the dumbest guy in the world. But my access to top level briefings is just not there. They haven't given me one yet! That's a heck of a vow she made!

It was reported -- I heard the quote -- that she thinks we ought to go to war with Iran. Just like that. War. Someone please spare us such ignorance. Remember, I haven't had any briefings, but even I know the next legitimate step in our relations with Iran is something short of all-out war.

Obama Needs Two Terms

I don't know about President Obama. I want him to buckle down and do a fantastic job. Then I want him to run for office and get reelected.

The biggest reason I want him reelected is that the alternative is too terrible to contemplate. Because it would mean that one of the Republican scoundrels would be our president, assuming no one is going to subject President Obama to a Democratic primary.

He's all right. Come on. Yes, we're complaining a little, because we want some things accomplished. We don't want to waste a whole year on health care reform just to come up empty handed. You can't blame us, can you? Some of the crumbs on TV are saying we shouldn't have health care reform because the folks of Massachusetts voted for a Republican and thereby sent that message.

But as I recall, we voted for it in 2008 and also sent a message. Which should still be a message louder and clearer than what one state and a sliver of voters at that said. The Democrat didn't lose 100 to nothing. And it was only one state. We voted for President Obama in 2008 and we're still looking for our message to be heeded. Why don't the Republican scoundrels care about our message, if they care so much about what messages the voters supposedly are sending?

The actual truth, of course, is that the Republicans don't care about us whatsoever. They showed that through eight years of corruption in the Bush years. And they've showed it this last year in their cynical obstructionism. I wouldn't vote for a Republican at this point if they were the only choice. I think they are criminals, crooks, and scoundrels. And I don't see a flicker of difference between the various ones. Who would we get? The biggest idiot in the world, Sarah Palin? That's a revolting thought.

President Obama said he'd rather be a really good president with one term than a mediocre president with two. Whatever, good or mediocre, he needs two terms. If for no other reason than the Republicans would be 50 times worse.

Obama, Jobs, A New Direction Forward, Etc.

I like the signs I'm starting to see, that President Obama is going to get a grip on the Democrats' 2010 electoral fortunes and try to steer us away from the whirlpool of defeat. That's good.

Also he's going to be emphasizing jobs, which is what we need. We also needed health care, so hopefully that's not exactly toast. I sincerely hope he has a better ability to fight for jobs than he did for health care. Because if health care is an example of his ability to get something done, you may as well sign up for unemployment now.

The last year, in my opinion, has been crap. Of course we had the stimulus and it saved or created, they say, millions of jobs. That's good. And had the Republicans had their way, recall, they would've done nothing. So that would've been very bad.

But it was the whole health care thing that made the year crap. He needed to get in there and knock some heads and bust some kneecaps but he didn't do it. And so what happened? The special interests in charge of Congress steered the whole issue straight into the ditch. And our Congress-idiots want us to think they were looking out for our interests. Right, we're completely stupid.

Who was most culpable? The Democrats did a very poor job. But it is the Republicans who did the worst job, since they chose the path of civic vandalism. At least there were Democrats among the rest who had something of the public interest at heart. Among the Republicans there wasn't even one. And that's unforgivable.

Get to work, President Obama. Quit talking about what a "tizzy" we're all in and get something done. I hate hearing that folksy crap he says in speeches. I like him a lot, but it's time to dump the folksy "tizzy" stuff and get something done!

January 20

Wow, it's been a whole year since Inauguration Day!

I remember how long it seemed from Election Day 2008 to January 20, 2009. We had that infernal, terrible George W. Bush in there. And one day was like an eternity with him.

I see President Obama put Bush in charge of something to do with Haiti. So of course there's no hope now.

But now we've got a whole year since those dark days of the Bush administration. And as it turns out, it hasn't been easy or all that positive.

I still think President Obama is doing a reasonably good job. I just don't think he fights very well. He seems to be a creampuff who doesn't mind getting his butt kicked on a daily basis. But hey, maybe he'll wise up now that we've lost the Senate seat in Massachusetts (of all places).

But even if he doesn't wise up, he's still not George W. Bush. And for that, he deserves our highest praise.

Health Care Reform Will Pass The Senate

I know a lot of people are fed up and angry about the health care negotiations in the Senate. So am I. But I'm not willing to throw my lot in with those who want to "Kill the Bill" and have nothing. Because apparently we're never going to get everything we want in this country, not as long as we have the big insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, and other assorted criminals dictating policy. And they're not going anywhere soon. So we may as well get what we can get.

Am I happy with President Obama? Not entirely but I'm not entirely unhappy either. He might just be pragmatic enough to know this is what he was going to get, no matter how much he twisted arms and kicked butts. Still, it'd be nice to see him throw some muscle around occasionally.

As for Harry Reid, I guess if we assume he has the same troubles as everyone else, the fact that some of our Democratic senators are just naturally recalcitrant, he probably did what he could do as well. So apparently they're going to get something done. And I believe that something is better than nothing.

One reason, it gives us something to build on. If we simply started over, then there's no guarantee we wouldn't get something worse. Hopefully, we can tweak what we have and make it better over time.

I wanted a lot more. But when it comes to these guys in the back pockets of special interests, of course we're not always going to get what we want.

Next time let's have fewer Republicans and more Democrats in Congress. Then our chances of negating crumbs like Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman will be greater. The bigger our margin, the less influence these cretins will have.

Obama's Lack Of Fight

How can the president just sit there and take this? Why does he have a lack of fight?

WaPo: On the other side, Democratic strategists worry that progressives, disgusted by the big money bank bailout and disillusioned with President Barack Obama's lack of fight on issues such as a government-run health insurance plan, might keep some people from voting. That could cost Democrats seats up and down the ballot. [My bold]

Why doesn't President Obama fight for us? It's bizarre.

Now Harry Reid is suggesting they might not get health care done this year!

The time for extracting one's head from one's posterior is now.

They're With The Taliban Against America

Eugene Robinson has a great column about President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize and the lunatic fringe Republican response.

We will recall that Rush Limbaugh pointblank said he was with the Taliban on this one, in renouncing the award. In a bygone era, say a year ago, that would have been a "Hanoi Jane" moment. Robinson's use of that phrase points out what everyone seems to have forgotten: You're with US or the terrorists.

Now there were some Republicans who publicly did the right thing. Like John McCain, who for all his lack of sense a year ago, seems to know now it's better to be gracious than not.

I wanted to get in this great paragraph from Eugene Robinson:

Let the rejectionists fulminate and sputter until they wear their vocal cords out. Politically, they're only bashing themselves. As Republican leaders -- except RNC Chairman Michael Steele -- are beginning to realize, "I'm With the Taliban Against America" is not likely to be a winning slogan.

That's funny. You would think these idiots -- Michael Steele, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck -- would think before they open their yaps.

The Taliban, Hamas, And Republicans

Who's against President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize?

The Republican party, the Taliban, and Hamas.

Birds of a feather.

Who's against America? The same bunch.

So Is It Going To Happen?

Yesterday I saw somewhere, someone said that health care reform was essentially "fait accompli," which looks like "fat accomplice" misspelled.

So I take it it's a done deal. And now we're all excited that there could be an opt-out option for the states who don't want better health care for their residents. I can see some of the benefits of this option, because those states might see their residents fleeing for other states and decide that health care is important.

Would I want to live in a state that would just as soon I died? Not really. I like that whole concept of society appreciating my existence enough to let me live. But if the Republicans had their way, of course we'd all be worked to death to enrich them, then hustled off to some death farm ... our bodies used to feed hogs or something. LOL. The Republicans are probably so evil they're going, How'd that guy find out about the farms?

In other news, I saw a weird story that Justice officials refused to take an oath before testifying before Congress ... so whatever hearing it was didn't happen. It said something about the Obama administration not wanting them to swear to tell the truth. I don't know. It just struck me as very weird. Is there some black handbook they give you when you're president, of secrets that must not be divulged? A box with cloaks and daggers that you have to guard?

It strikes me as very weird that as soon as Obama became president that we couldn't investigate Bush, couldn't get rid of some of the terrible practices of Bush, etc.

So there must be something they show you when you become president, and you step back and say, Oh, my God, and decide you can't govern in an open and transparent way.

I still like Obama quite a lot. I just wonder what happens between Election Day and the day after the Inauguration!

Helping Or Hurting Obama

I was with some guys today. They must get all their news from Fox. They're very anti-Obama.

One "heard" that there's some definitive proof about to be given that President Obama wasn't born in the United States and therefore can't be president. Another thought, Oh yes, he'll be president ... because there's so nefarious power out there that will make it happen.

Then the first guy said he thinks it's looking more and more like Obama is the Antichrist. Something about his eyes!

And of course he's subverting religion, Obama did something different than other presidents in regards to the National Day of Prayer. Religion is going to be eliminated or outlawed, etc.

This is all very disgusting to me, and it's sad to hear it.

But then on the other hand, I have to think this isn't hurting President Obama all that much. The more marginal these crazy criticisms become, the more it appears that his opposition is unhinged from reality. And who are all the "normal" people out there who are going to be that influenced by this insanity?

Anyone who believes this garbage about the president isn't going to vote for him anyway. The good news is those folks, the conspiracy theory crowd, seem to be marginalizing themselves by all the nonsense. And they couldn't win in 2008 with these tactics.

So how would that be for irony? Those who think they're hurting Obama might be the very ones helping him the most.

They're Rushing Obama

The line today (Hardball, Saturday Night Live) is that President Obama isn't accomplishing anything, because we're still in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo; health care reform isn't done; etc.

Just a few weeks ago he was being accused of doing too much, now too little. I don't think these people have his interests at heart. Since no one can be pleased.

As to Iraq, he promised to get out in something like 19 months or 20-some months, not overnight. Afghanistan, that's obviously going to go on for a while. Gitmo, they said it couldn't be closed in under a year, and it hasn't been ... who knows, it might take a little while.

As for the health care reform, I agree. Get the $%#@#$ done! I am furious that the president isn't in Congress knocking some heads, twisting some arms, and making some threats. Like you get this done or else! I don't remember any first year rebellion (or any other time) by the Republicans against George W. Bush. He's surely got the power to cut some of these Democratic cretins off at the knees. Break their kneecaps or something.

On some of this big stuff, the various morasses that Bush got us into, give the guy some time.

When America Loses, Republicans Are Happy

Here's a good article on this subject.

In short, the Republicans hate President Obama so much, that when America was passed over for hosting the 2016 Olympics, they cheered. Because in some way it's his fault (or whatever), like there were no other factors.

So, if America loses at something, they're happy. Except they then (weirdly) pretend like they're rubbing it in with Obama for not succeeding. Which is weird because that's exactly what they wanted. LOL.

Oh, for the old days, when the Republicans tried to convince us they were the true patriots. Of course we all knew better ... but they insisted on it. Now we see how patriotic they are ... not.

Andy Williams -- Now Dead To Me?

Good grief. Don't any of the major performers remember what happened to the Dixie Chicks? Remember back, think back. They said one little negative thing about that former god President George W. Bush -- is this ringing any bells? -- and they were castigated, shunned, and kicked to the curb.

But now it's becoming mainstream to say outrageous things about the president. Since he's black and ... (gasp) ... a Democrat! We've got kooks bringing their guns to presidential rallies, and that elicits a gigantic ho-hum. Facebook wonders in a matter of fact way if Mr. Obama should be killed. Just like that.

And now ... this is terrible ... even old Andy Williams is getting in on the act! Who knew mellow Andy Williams was also a crazy, a wingnut?

Who knew Andy Williams would be potentially dead to me? Out of all people. Why would someone of such blessed American memory be jumping on this outrageous bandwagon? Why wouldn't he just keep his stupid yap shut? Can anyone believe this?

Andy Williams thinks President Obama is a Marxist who wants America to fail. Andy Williams thinks that. Andy Williams.

Does this mean I really am going to have to consider Andy Williams actually dead to me? Maybe so. That's sad. He's got like the Number One record at Goodwill for the last 20 years running. He's very hot. I just bought another Andy Williams record at a garage sale this past Saturday. Somehow he sold millions and millions of records and lost millions and millions of fans to death and dementia, because his records are everywhere.

Am I going to need to destroy my latest Andy Williams record? I just got it! Ha ha, don't make me have to do that, Andy.

Withdraw your excursion into wingnut politics. Can't we have Andy Williams back?

President Obama On Letterman

I didn't get to see the whole show, just the tiny clip they had on CBS this morning.

But President Obama looked great and did great with the little banter they had going there. He's impressive. It was nice to see the audience give him a good welcome. But Dave said they had cleared the place of Republican Congressmen, so there weren't any disruptions.

Dave was also saying some things about the tight security, and I'll bet it was! That's a good thing, knowing how many absolute wackos there are in this country who would harm the president. I wonder why some of the wackos who carry their guns to Obama rallies weren't there, demanding entrance.

Seeing the president on TV quite a bit lately, it's renewing my confidence. Anyone who says President Obama is overexposed is either lying or jealous ... or, more likely, partisan. I say when you got it going on like he does, there's no reason to stay home.

We have these other cretins, like Peggy Noonan, saying the president on TV is being "boorish." Nonsense. He's as refined as they come. If by some fluke he could've been a Republican, of course she'd be singing a different tune. I wonder if she ever called Bush "boorish," because I don't know ... maybe Bush could've been "boorish," if he worked real hard, he might've climbed up to that status. He was "ultra sub boorish."

I get a kick out of watching this charming guy -- President Obama -- on TV. And I guess I get a kick out of the fact that we have all these true wackos sitting at home, seething about everything he does. Maybe when he thinks of them, he puts forth an extra grin. He's a beautiful guy.

Fox News' Badge Of Honor

President Obama went on all the Sunday shows today, except Fox News' show, whatever it is. It apparently features Chris Wallace, because he's the one doing the whining.

Good.

I say if Fox News can't play night, then let them find their own little sandbox and play in it on their own. They put out nothing but the most vile propaganda anyway, I hear, because their idiot channel is not one I will watch.

Paul Gigot of the Wall Street Journal said, "Wear it as a badge of honor."

Great, I hope the president gives Fox News many similar "badges of honor" to wear. In fact, bury them in badges of honor.

It's September 12 -- Obama Beats Bush

Way to go! Drinks all around!

We don't know what will happen in the future but we can see the past pretty clearly.

George W. Bush only kept us safe up till the morning of 9/11. Barack Obama has now gone beyond Bush, since it's now 9/12 and counting.

Great job! A grateful nation salutes your competence.

Rep. Joe Wilson

Rep. Joe Wilson (R) of South Carolina is the rude loudmouth who actually heckled President Obama during his address before a joint session of Congress.

Wilson ought to be censured and made to apologize. There is no call for this in a civil society.

Where do we get these crazy people? You would think people who have the privilege to serve in Congress would know something about manners. And that they would be reasonably civil.

This guy -- Joe Wilson -- deserves to be held up to scorn. What ever happened to shame?

Make US Happy, Mr. Obama

The "narrative" now is of a presidency in trouble. President Obama needs to get a credible health care reform package through Congress. And in the process he can't keep everyone happy.

David Axelrod, the president's senior adviser, said, “To govern is to make choices, and to make choices is to make some unhappy.”

In my hallowed opinion, the ones to make happy are the ones who elected you. The ones who voted for you, and the ones who might look forward to voting for you again.

The ones not to worry about so much, which seems to be part of the problem, are the Republicans. They didn't vote for you and they won't vote for you next time. What they think is beside the point, worthless. No matter what you do, they're going to hate it and hate you.

So I agree with Axelrod. Someone's going to be unhappy. But why kick the ones who are on your side? There's an old saying about 'Dancing with the one who brought you to the dance.' Try it!

President Obama Wednesday

It's Wednesday, I'm thinking, that President Obama will be addressing a joint session of Congress about the health care reform issue.

There seems to be a lot of jockeying around, what he'll say, what he won't say, how he's going to phrase it to avoid ticking off the progressives while possibly pulling the rug out from the promises made of actual health care reform.

I'm hoping to see it. But if I don't I'll catch the main points. The bad news is that Bobby Jindal won't be bringing the Republic rebuttal. I think they have John Boehner for the honors this time.

Have I mentioned lately how much I despise the Republican party? We can barely watch the TV news (I don't actually want to), because I sit there fuming and livid at the Republicans. I can't believe anyone would be attracted to their Party of No after their shenanigans since President Obama took office. They've been out and out liars and they haven't been subtle about it.

Yes, I've been critical of the president, basically for not standing up to these #$@^%#s more. Why he wants bipartisanship with people who refuse to accept anything is beyond me. So what's the reward for him doing this? Reduced poll numbers. And what's the reward for the Republicans' mad shenanigans? Increased poll numbers. It's maddening.

Anyone with a lick of sense could tell the Republicans have been the world's biggest scoundrels, forever, yes, but certainly in the last nine months.

The Public Option

Look at this poll from CNN. There's wide support for the public option in the health care reform legislation. But because of the execrable Republicans and some lily-livered Democrats, it looks like we're not going to get it.

The Republicans want to stick it to President Obama. That's their only agenda. They don't mean well for America, nor will they govern responsibly. I don't think they can, since they don't actually believe their job in government is for any positive difference. They're only concerned with sticking it to the American people. Go figure.

Then we have the Democrats, who if there was only one Republican left in Congress would be cowering in fear under their desks, afraid he might criticize them for something. So many of the Democrats are either gutless or in the back pocket of the lobbyists or health care industries, so they're not even representing us. It's criminal.

Whether President Obama even has the cajones to stick up for what he campaigned on and was touting back in March, we shall see. The signs out of the White House are not promising. I still like him, a lot, but he seems to be governing as a gutless wonder. I heard he would bring a gun to a knife fight. But I guess he didn't say he'd bring ammo. He pulls the trigger and you get a sign that says "Bang." Doesn't seem to scare very many.

We shall see what we shall get. If I had the power, though, I'm in the mood to run out the lot of them and start over. If that were only possible. Too many entrenched liars and crooks in there, like Chuck Grassley, Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, and on and on. Then we have the insane crowd, like Michelle Bachmann.

You think, this is Congress. Congress ought to have great people in there, patriots, our nation's best, working for us. And what do we get? Paid cronies of corporations, crooks, liars, crazy people without a lick of sense, halfwits, morons. And then there's the Democrats. And half of them seem like creeps too.