Endorsed by the President

Wow, was I thrilled with last night’s State of the Union address. Right there at the 45 minute mark, the President steps up and openly endorses me: “Let’s try ‘Common Sense’ … a novel concept.” I can’t tell you how honored I was. It’s not everyday you get a ringing endorsement from the President of the United States!

I loved his speech as well. It was almost inspirational at the end when he was chastising Congress and the Supreme Court. With respect to the latter, I was afraid for a moment that Justice Alito might try to reprise Congressman Wilson’s “You lie!” faux pas of September 10th, but he maintained judicial decorum by merely shaking his head with a look of disdain and uttering the phrase, “That’s not true.” Since courts like to make distinctions, this gives the Justice a way to distinguish his actions from Congressman Wilson’s. The fact that the President may have misinterpreted the Supreme Court’s narrow ruling of 2 U.S.C. 441e need not be taken into consideration.

I was particularly impressed with the President’s empathy and demonstrated understanding. He really seems to have “connected” with the frustration of the American people. When he stated that we have “lost faith” in our biggest institutions (corporations, media, and the government), I think he was “right on.” Of course, I expect America’s Crappy Lawyers Union (the ACLU) to ask that the term “faith” be stricken from the record, but I don’t believe he meant it in a religious context. No, the President went on to excoriate any “CEO who rewards himself for failure” and any Banker “who puts the rest of us at risk for his own selfish gain.” Putting aside the masculine references, which again may evoke a claim of sex discrimination from the ACLU, I agree with him on this point. I think he was running short on time, so while he had an opportunity to single out unscrupulous CEOs and Bankers (and it wasn’t a good night for Bankers), he didn’t have the chance to address the government, in whom we’ve “lost faith” as well. So, I’ll cover that for him.

You see, Common Sense suggests that we “lose faith” in government when our elected officials spend money irresponsibly … as if it’s their money. We “lose faith” when votes are “bought” to pass ill-conceived legislation … something we call bribery in the real world. We “lose faith” when billions of dollars are traded for favors in the form of earmarks; although we were promised a website that would list future earmarks for all to see. Note that in contrast with what was promised during the Presidential campaign, we were not told that anything would be done to eliminate earmarks … just that they would be posted. What can I say? I think this kind of bold and decisive action leaves us all “atwitter” (no pun intended).

I liked it when the President admonished Congress. He said it was not the time to be “playing it safe, and avoid telling hard truths, and pointing fingers … doing what’s necessary to keep our poll numbers high and get through the next election.” I agree! However, we tend to “lose faith” when this reprimand comes after the President has repeatedly blamed the former Administration for the “massive fiscal hole” he inherited when he came into office. We “lose faith” when he ignores the fact that he helped dig that hole when he voted for the bills that generated the debt while he was a Senator in a Democratic-controlled Congress. We “lose faith” when he issues the rebuke after he has repeatedly blamed big business (and particularly the banking industry) for the ills of our economy. From a Common Sense perspective, it just seems a bit insincere.

We further “lose faith” when the flames of class warfare are fanned to capture support. “We won’t extend tax cuts to Oil Companies, Investment Fund Managers and those making over $250 thousand a year.” I happen to know people in each of these groups who do not merit vilification. There is nothing inherently evil about them, but I guess it makes for good theatre. Oil Companies employ thousands of people; Investment Fund Managers are not all sharing a cell with Bernie Madoff (or former Congressmen Cunningham and Biaggi for that matter); and just because someone has established a level of success that generates an income in excess of $250,000 doesn’t mean they lie, cheat and steal to do it. It would be far more inspiring to find a way to raise peoples’ standard of living rather than trying to lower the standard of those who have achieved success … but I digress.

We “lose faith” when the latest “whipping boy,” the banking industry, is attacked for its greed and corruption without any mention of the uncapped monetary resources of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and the uncapped compensation of their executives. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it the collapse of the housing market and the bundling of related “troubled assets” that led us to TARP (the Troubled Assets Relief Program)? Wasn’t it the Congress in which the President served that passed legislation mandating that loans be given to people who couldn’t possibly repay them? Good business? No! Good politics? Well, it helped gain an overwhelming majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and secure the Presidency, so I guess the answer is “Yes!”

We “lose faith” when there are obvious contradictions between campaign rhetoric and reality. Oil Companies are bad … but we’re going to drill offshore. Tax cuts are bad … but we passed 25 of them last year (I guess they’re only bad if they’re not being given to your voting base). We’re going to “exclude Lobbyists from policy-making decisions or seats on federal boards or commissions” … but we’re going to make 12 special exceptions while trying to form the current Administration’s team. A trillion dollar deficit is bad … but only the one associated with a lame-duck Administration that had to drive legislation through a recalcitrant opposition’s significant majority.

My favorite of the night was, “What frustrates American people is a Washington where everyday is an election day … we can’t wage a perpetual campaign.” Great sound bite! Unfortunately, it was followed by, you guessed it, what can only be characterized as a campaign speech. Security, withdrawing our combat troops from Iraq, human rights, civil rights, employment discrimination, hate crimes, equal pay, border security (I think Secretary Napolitano may have been dozing off at this point) … all were covered. Then, it was announced that the President would be leaving in the morning to basically repeat the same stump speech in various States across the country; States which, coincidentally, have major seats up for election in November. I can only hope there are enough Teleprompters to go around.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for a Jobs Bill, Healthcare Reform, and a Comprehensive Clean Energy and Climate Bill. I just don’t think any of them should be based on rhetoric, bad information, or political interests. The President said he’d be open to advice on healthcare reform: “If anyone has a better plan that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.” Given his new and open support of Common Sense, I’ll be writing an article on Healthcare Reform in the near future that will do just that.

In the mean time, I’ll try to learn more about “budgeting.” Apparently, it’s about freezing Congressional spending … but only in a year because “that’s what budgeting is.” I must have missed that in my finance courses in college. Then again, maybe the President is really just a closet Cubs fan who can’t break away from a fundamental belief in “Wait ‘til next year.”

I’ll admit I was left with a tear in my eye because of the closing story about the eight year old boy who sent his allowance to President Obama and asked that it be sent to Haiti. After taxes, I think it amounted to 12 cents. Then, I saw Speaker Pelosi lean over to Vice President Biden to offer a thought. I’m sure she was suggesting that they could cut back on their political perquisites and redirect the money to those in need. Nancy, you’re going to miss the private plane, the subsidized food, the large staff, etc. … but God bless you for caring.

*****

2010 © Dr. T.J. O’Hara. To support viral distribution, this article may be copied, reprinted, forwarded, linked, or published in any form as long as proper attribution is given to the author.