I’m not much on conspiracy theories, but I am beginning to concoct one. Our government is adrift. We have not had any real leadership in the President’s office for 10 years. What little “leadership” there has been has been counter to benefiting the vast majority of us.
The question then is who benefits from lack of leadership in this country. My short answer would be cowboys on Wall Street and the wealthy 1 or 2 percent of Americans who seem to be setting the government’s agenda.
Clinton was a surprise winner in both of his elections. He did more than I would like to admit to enrich the elite, but he did provide some leadership. He did not totally forget the poor and middle class.
I cannot believe that any serious thinker would have thought George W. Bush to be a good President. I do not think any serious thinker believes now that he was a good President. He ran roughshod over the middle class and our economy. “His people”, the wealthy elite and korporate overlords, benefited greatly under his mis-regime. Perhaps that was his “leadership”.
I wanted Hillary for President. I had a bumper sticker on my vehicle since Bush’s second election campaigning for her. This is a woman who knows the world and the way Washington works. She has more cajones than any 10 Senators you care to choose.
We elected Obama. The press and Oprah anointed him as The Chosen One. I had huge reservations as I did not feel then that he had the experience to lead this nation. I would dearly love to have been proven wrong, but it seems time is bearing me out. There seems to be little leadership from him. He keeps caving to the Rebukians. The moments he could have seized, he has not. His one semi-victory, health care, may end up a popped balloon if the Rebukians get their way. I voted for him hoping to have a Liberal in the office, but thought at least I will have a Democrat. I do not know what we have now except ineffective.
While the press did at one point shower him with adoration, what really got him elected was money. I am beginning to wonder where all this money came from. Reference my conspiracy theory about ineffective leadership benefiting the few. I would like to claim the theory of ineffective leadership benefiting the few, but I first read about it in Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer–and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class. If I had a wish, I would wish that he would not run again and announce it in time for Hillary to start campaigning. I do not see that happening.
It is yet to be seen if Sarah Palin will run for President, but it would not surprise me if she did. I cannot imagine too many folks worse than her in that office. I imagine that if she did run she would garner a truck load of money. Remember it behooves the few to keep Washington in a dysfunctional mess and with weak leadership.
Now everybody repeat after me…B-A-N-A-N-A R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C.
For an interesting read in the same vein. Follow this link for an editorial from Paul Krug at the New York Times:
Freezing Out Hope
We watched a history channel program about the secret service detail assigned to JFK. All these many years later and those guys could hardly speak about some of it because they got so choked up. I wonder if there is anyone that can/will inspire that kind of loyalty left. These guys spend weeks away from their families, did not get paid very well, but they would do it all again.
During the Cuban missile crisis, they had orders that in case of an attack they were to take Jackie and the kids to a bunker. When they told her that, she calmly looked into his eyes and told him that she and the children would be out on the South lawn watching with the other Americans that did not have a bunker to go to. The man said that he was glad he didn’t have to find out how much she meant that.
We so need someone of that caliber in office. Of course, Kennedy would not get elected in this climate as he was a notorious womanizer. I wonder how many other folks do not run who would be great leaders, but our shallowness keeps them from it.
Times, they are a changin’.
They did not have to deal with Fox News and 24 hour news. If it were, I do not think JFK or Abe Lincoln would have been able to do much. Neither would FDR.
I am beginning to believe that 24 hour news channels like fix is a bad thing for Democracy.
SGB
I am probably not the biggest support of the POTUS. But I am almost there, cheerleading when the faithful lose faith and the hopeful are in danger of losing hope.
But it is getting tough….. keeping faith. Being an Atheist, faith has never been my forte.
I think this “post-partisanship” style of governing was a mistake. The freaks on the right do not understand compassion. They only understand power. I was hoping the POTUS would get our country out of both the “immoral wars”….. given that there is no point wasting billions rebuilding…… errr…. trying to rebuild… some other country, while we get deeper in debt.
I also think it is a shame that the senators are having such a hard time eliminating tax cuts for those earning more than a quarter of a million. Given that we are in War the Tax of EVERYONE should have been increased to fund the war (in 2003 when we sent troops overseas) – call it a patriotism tax or something. You don’t want tax increase? Then you should Oppose the war. If not, everyone should suck it up and pay more tax if we want to drop million dollar bombs in caves in third world countries…
Given the current economic uncertainty, I can understand giving the middle class a tax break. But the rich should not get any tax breaks. The millionaires should actually be made to pay the same percentage in tax that they paid when the republican zero, Ronald Regan, was the president.
That said, the liberals groups are annoying too.
I don’t care about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.. or Same Sex marriage. I don’t care about other people’s sexual preferences. They can be with whoever they want in the privacy of their house. But at this moment in time, Gay rights is not even in the top three priorities. It is just annoying to hear folks talk about it as if it is the most important thing in the world.
/rant over.
SGB