The Speech and Looking for Next Year

I did not watch the "Speech" our president made a couple of days ago, I was working. Which in many ways, I could say, our president has not been doing for us citizens since January 09. However, I did see clips of it on the MSNBC evening shows and the accompanying comments and guest pundits.

I'm taking the Lazy Man's approach to this post, since I just don't have the time to compose my own thoughts on this; so here's "Scarecrow" from FDL, whose thoughts match mine. I am looking for someone to start up a primary against Obama. If I had the magic "Easy" button of commercial fame, anybody with solid and decent credentials ( as discussed below ) but Obama.

I like Dennis Kucinich, a lot.

The Main Event

Where's the president?

FDL's Scarecrow:

By: Scarecrow Wednesday April 13, 2011

In a memorable segment of the movie, American President, Michael J. Fox’s character, Lewis, tells the President that people are so hungry for leadership they’ll crawl towards a mirage and even drink the sand. The cynical President replies that the reason is “they don’t know the difference.”

The reaction of liberals to the President’s speech Wednesday reminds us how thirsty liberals/progressives have been for President Obama to show the slightest hint of courageous and progressive leadership.

So when Obama, who has repeatedly betrayed liberal values cherished by the Democratic Party since FDR, finally said what liberals/progressives have been saying for months, much of the liberal community cheered or at least said, “finally!” But this was easy.

This President has spent the last 18 months undermining liberal values, nowhere more blatant than his repetition of Tea-GOP talking points about deficits and debts, and how government had to tighten its belt because that’s what families do. What gibberish. His convening of the Catfood Commission, whose chair proposals would worsen the distribution of wealth towards the rich, and his partial endorsement of its framing today still hang over Social Security and other safety net programs.

Candidate Obama often told voters that government programs are both legitimate and necessary as a collective response to problems that can overwhelm millions of individuals if left alone. In today’s speech, we heard candidate Obama again, with only a hint of the Obama who’s been our President for two years. Which is the water? Which is the sand?

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It was clear by the weekend that the White House was facing a potential revolt among even the more loyal but now wavering followers, so something had to be done. And they sent White House adviser David Plouffe to do it, on four cable/network Sunday shows.

My guess is that Plouffe’s priority was to change the subject. The new topic, which immediately grabbed the compliant media’s headlines, was the announcement that Obama would make a speech on Wednesday laying out his framework for deficit reductions. It would be Obama versus Paul Ryan and the Tea-GOPs. Great theater. Supporters stopped moaning and waited. Political genius? Hardly.

All Obama had to do was beat pitiful Paul Ryan, the Tea-GOP’s budget flim flam man. Ryan not only fixed the numbers, he proposed to dismantle Medicare, the very program the GOP ran on saving from the evil Obama last November. How stupid is that? And he did it with a set of arguments and numbers that were so blatantly dishonest and so easily debunked that he left himself and his party exposed. Even better, Party leaders and numerous Tea-GOP Zombies endorsed Ryan’s budget, making it the official Tea-GOP position.
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So we shouldn’t be surprised that even the inept political team in this White House realized they’d been handed a gift. All they had to do was to restate the central premise of American politics since FDR: Americans accept that while we honor individual initiative and freedom, we also share a collective responsibility to take care of each other, especially in individual or collective tough times. And the core programs that honor that belief — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — are sacred. That core human value is not just liberal or progressive, though liberals embrace it without question. It transcends the left-right dichotomy. Every advanced society embraces it. The only people who don’t are Randian nuts and corporate thugs.

So I”m glad Rachel Maddow is happy with the President’s speech; Cenk was ecstatic, and Ed’s all aglow. But their President just made one of the easiest, most obvious political statements one can imagine, given how extreme and radical Paul Ryan and his Tea-GOP Zombies have become. The only wonder is that it took so long for this White House and Dem leaders to make this move. The argument was available before November; it was available in December when Obama gave away what he said today he would never give away again. But it would have taken a bit more courage back then.

So was this a great liberal/progressive statement by a courageous President? Yes, as Rachel said, he made a lot of good points — good for him — but points that have been obvious and unsaid for over a year. He only made them now after Paul Ryan’s radical extremism made them easy to say. What more could a courageous liberal have said?

Ask yourself, where was the proposal to provide additional funding to states to replenish their unemployment insurance funds or to relieve states of their huge Medicaid burden, at least until employment recovers or the expanded Medicaid kicks in in 2014?

Where was the defense of government employees and the sanctity of their pension contracts? Where’s the major jobs program for the 25 million still unemployed or underemployed? Where is the warning that austerity plans are already hurting European economies and could hurt ours too?

Where’s the defense of climate change efforts in the face of the Tea-GOP meat axe to EPA? Where’s the defense of financial regulation or the proposal to tax Wall Street casino deals or clamp down on too easy money flowing into derivatives/commodities speculation? Why was it okay to claim as a “savings” the unused funds for poor women and children merely because the states neglected to seek them out? What about the women who need family planning in DC?

The President got a soft slow pitch and he hit it out. Now, let’s see him hit a fastball and a curve and do it with the game on the line. We’re waiting.


{End of Quote}

Unfortunately, there are millions out there who don't have the luxury of waiting a few months . . . . for yet another cave by a Democratic president to Republican lies and insanity.

ETA

Looking through the comments, hardly anyone is persuaded by the "Speech". Here's an example:

dhfsfc April 14th, 2011 at 3:14 am « Anyone else suspicious that this “bold’ statement came one week after the Prez announced that he was running for reelection? He sure knows how to campaign.

bb

Teh Stoopid - It Burns! (Part 3)

WTF?

"WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is meeting with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to talk about a pending arms treaty with Russia and other issues."

Look, I understand the part about putting aside partisanship to drink deeply at the well of wisdom of the sages that have preceded you in office.

But.

Condi Rice?

Condi Rice???

Possibly the most inept National Security Advisor in the brief history of the nation? Forchrissake, Obama, if you want advice on military affairs would you want to talk to the commander of the Iraqi occupation forces in Kuwait in '91? If you wanted advice on marriage would to want to talk to Newt Gingrich? If you wanted advice on clowning would you want to talk to John Wayne Gacy?

I know Condi was supposed to be an expert on the Soviets, but she's been out of that game for two decades. Her performance as SecState was centered on the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan where her "Transformational Diplomacy" was initially a bust and then something of a mean joke. She was constantly outplayed by Cheney and Rummy, and her reorganization of State was a fairly massive fail.

You want to suck up to a Republican? George Schultz is still alive, and his record with the Sovs is way better than Condi's. Jim Baker did a hell of a job during the Second Gulf War. Even Maddie Albright, not my favorite diplomat by any means, has a better vita than Condi!

Is it utterly impossible to fuck up SO badly as to become unwelcome inside the Beltway? What the hell do you have to do to wear out your welcome inside the Oval Office, become a divorced homosexual Green hippe?

What?

Connections

For some time I had been dithering about what to write about in my first, official after-the-introductory post. I do tend to dither, and I do use that as an excuse for a minor vice of mine, "procrastination". Dithering sounds much more professional, not morally decrepit like procrastination.

And now, God save me, I'm following Publius, at least at the time of this writing.

But I do plan to write about what I know and what I am interested in. That's all an author can really hope to do well.

I have been thinking about the varied connections that bind us all to each other and to the structures of our society. One of these connections, my 30+ years in public education is beginning to wither away and, although I will be continuing part-time, my full career is at an end. Another connection is appearing to develop, a part-time position at our local movie theater as a projectionist.

Movies have always interested me. They certainly are topics of conversation with friends or even complete strangers, whose notice often can be caught with a simple, "So, what did you think of the flick?" And many times fine conversations can begin. Family connections are vitally important, too. So, after a family get-together last Saturday in Nebraska with all my family to celebrate Mom & Dad's 60th wedding anniversary from this past January, I've been busy training to run the theater's 8 projectors.

This is the link to a couple of pictures and a short video of the family ( I'm the one kneeling in the group picture with my parents, brothers and sister, in the yellow shirt ) and another link to the type of work I'm now doing this summer. The video at the top of the site is what I'm doing now.


These are hard times. If those out of work and given up and those who are working part-time at less pay are added to the official unemployment rate, we have an unemployment rate above 15%. I feel I am lucky. Unless the State of Kansas goes completely belly up, I'll have a steady source of income for the rest of my life. My chances for a continuing part-time gig as a teacher, without any benefits, however, look iffy as the state continues to undershoot ( last week by 120 million ) its revenues and more educational cuts seem likely.

The oft-quoted Chinese proverb/curse: "Living in interesting times". I have never suffered an extended length of unemployment; I do not know what that is like, having a family with kids and no reliable steady source of good income. But I do know what it's like to scrape by on next to nothing.

As I wrote, "Lucky".

Back to my headline, "Connections". It seems to me our societal connections are disconnecting. My 2 Kansas senators and my representative are Republican, and are toeing the party line. No vote from them for the stimulus money, but we took it anyway, since we are blessed with a Democratic governor, a blessing indeed compared to the poor folk in Texas, Alaska & South Carolina. Certainly no vote from my CongressCritters for the new Cap and Trade bill that recently passed nor will they likely vote for any meaningful and effective reform of healthcare. As the "Democratic" senator from Nebraska, Ben Nelson, once proclaimed not too long ago, we need to care for the poor insurance companies. Another of our Democratic senators, Joe Lieberman, just a couple of days ago released himself from his campaign's support for a public healthcare option.

Truly, "LIE-berman".

Our current President made many personal connections with us his fellow citizens during the campaign last year and before. Some more significant than others, that's how our political leaders gain a following and get their chance at leading the country. I always try to catch Jon Stewart's show, and tonight's version was very apt for my discourse here. At the time of this writing, his July 2 show is not online, but his opening was along the lines of "Pretty speeches are fine, now fix the damn economy!" I'm afraid Obama has cut many of those connections he made with us. The "fierce advocate" for the rights of gays, hasn't been so fierce, yet, but indeed, his Department of Justice could call these fellow citizens of ours "incestuous pedophiles". Transparency in government, but the CIA can't seem to get that report on torture promised many times to be released to the public. Can't let the transcripts of Bush and Cheney concerning Valerie Pflame be released either.

It seems Obama is busy making connections to the previous administration to the detriment of those connections he made to us while on campaign.

I hope for the sake of his presidency and the good of the country that he is not. A good test of that point will be the final result of wrangling over healthcare later this year. Will it be true, that "Change we can believe in!" will become more than a smile and a verbal commitment?

FACTA, NON VERBA

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