Our Prevaricator in Chief is sending the strongest of signals that he still doesn’t understand what’s going on in this country. Back on February 26, I ran a piece entitled “It’s the Economy Stupid.” To my astonishment, it apparently hasn’t crossed Mr. Obama’s desk yet.
Judging from Barry O’s behavior, I have to presume that, in addition to Rumors, Lies, Innuendo, Fear, Uncertainty, and Despair, his staff also is keeping him away from The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, along with The Imperial Valley Press and The Merced News. (I’ll explain these last two below).
Mr. Obama apparently is unaware that the economy is STILL the number one concern of Americans. Well over half of all Americans say the economy is the number one problem in the country. It’s not that they don’t have an opinion on health care, or education, or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but all of them, even those with jobs or secure incomes, know that we’re in the midst of an economic crisis.
We are watching Nero fiddle while Rome burns. Mr. Obama came into office with enormous political capital and a country that was facing its worse economic crisis in 80 years. He rode in on a tide of ‘Hope’ and ‘Change.’ He had the support of a majority of the American public, even many of those who didn’t vote for him. He had firm control of both houses of congress. He had a chance—nay, an obligation—to rescue the country from the excesses of the previous congresses and the Bush administration.
But what did he and congress do? They ignored the elephant in the room and started chasing the cockroaches. With unemployment at 10%, foreclosures on home loans at record levels, and foreign governments expressing serious concern about the status of the dollar as the de facto international reserve currency, Mr. Obama and the ‘leadership’ in congress decided that now was the perfect time to ram enormous and controversial changes in our health care system down our throats.
Together, the president and congress frittered away a year on health care, thus far accomplishing nothing except to further polarize and divide our citizens when we need to be pulling together.
But this guy just doesn’t get it. On Friday, the White House confirmed that Mr. Obama has delayed his visit to Asia by a week. Why? So he can focus on health care for a few more precious days.
Then, on Saturday, in his ‘weekly radio address’ Mr. Obama announced his next grand scheme: reform America’s schools. Another cockroach that needs killing, for sure, but Mr. Obama are you even aware that school districts are shuttering schools and going to four-day weeks? Why? Because they have no money. And why do the schools have no money? Because the taxpayers who support them have no jobs. Is any of this getting through to you?
Earlier I mentioned The Imperial Valley Press and The Merced News. Here’s why: Unemployment nationally is at 9.7% of the work force. In El Centro CA (the Imperial Valley) unemployment is 27.7%. In Merced it is 19.8%.
There are 372 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States. Of those, 145 have unemployment rates above 9.7%.
I don’t really see how the urgency could be any clearer. Are Mr. Obama, Mr. Reid, and Ms. Peolosi really that stupid or do they just not give a shit?
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