Some say “two weeks is not enough time to form an opinion”. I say “first impressions say a lot”.
People say they voted for him because he represented “hope and change”. Fair enough. I can understand that.
As for “change” what change have we seen so far? No lobbyists oh wait unless they work for me. No more ethics problems oh wait unless I need them to work for me. No more politics as usual oh wait let us cram this bill with gifts to political supporters and piles of money for local pet projects.
As for “hope” what hope have we seen so far? Remember the clouds and storms of the Inaugural Speech? And now we have a “crisis” and if we do not act quickly enough out of panic the result will be “catastrophe”. Yessireebob – the harbinger of “hope” wants everyone to understand that we are doomed. (Unless we do as he says no matter our principled objections.)
Charles Krauthammer does his usual brilliant job of directing our attention to the multiple disconnects between the Candidate for Hope and Change who has become President Obama:
“A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe.”
– President Obama, Feb. 4.WASHINGTON — Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared “we have chosen hope over fear.” Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.
Indeed. Along with marginalizing your opponents and beating up straw-man arguments in the Washington Post.
His final paragraphs:
After Obama’s miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell — and that this president told better than anyone.
I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.
Read the whole thing here. You do not have to register.
I was genuinely hopeful – or at least open to being pleasantly surprised – between Election Day and the Day After the Inauguration. And now? Methinks it is going to be a rough four years.
