The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall - Obama's Future?

No one is more surprised than I am at the precipitous fall in the President's approval rating (well, there might be a few others). From those heady post-election days when even some Democrats were secretly hoping for some positive change they could believe in.

Today, even Mr. Obama's base is blaming him for spilled oil, Wall Street greed, unemployment, lack of oysters, and maybe even the widespread flooding. Gosh, GOD he is not, despite what those people say.

I, too, was hopeful when Mr. Obama promised to end the rancor and bickering in Washington in the hopes of getting things done. Now even he bashes the Republicans for everything from tax policy to government regulation. He offers no more olive branches to the other side, probably because they just take the olives for their martinis, and return the charred branch. You can only get burned so much before you back off a little.

But I still cringe when Mr. Obama makes light of a ranking conservative using some of the same hyperbole and innuendo he sought to bury. Maybe he has the adopted the age-old philosophy, that "if you can't beat 'em. join 'em." No, not take their side. Oh no, join 'em down in the gutter where playing dirty is now part of the game. The audacity.

Financial Reform Bill - Help from Both Sides?

I don’t know whether the upcoming financial reform bill is exactly what is needed to “fix” the system, or not. My hope is that it is a start that a majority can support and then tweak the “unforeseen consequences” or the other gritty issues that were left out.

I am most surprised, pleasantly I think, that three Republicans plan to join the Dems in supporting this reform legislation. They are taking great risks, maybe not as great as the signers of the Declaration of Independence who risked their very lives, but who still could face a political death from those on the right who see any bipartisanship as treason.

Even John McCain, at this time in his re-election fight, could not mount another McCain-Feingold type of bill, joining with the “enemy” to actually move some things forward. He could not risk the wrath of right-wingers who might convince even the moderates that he is selling out to liberals. Good thing McCain-Feingold passed a long time ago, despite its “milquetoast” effect on real campaign finance reform.

Now I wish some Democrats, who feel that they are statesmen and stateswomen, could see their way clear to back some moderate Republican proposals. I doubt it will happen, but that would be a change I could believe in.

Children Behave...

"Good grief," as Charley Brown often says. It has been a busy time and the blog suffers, but I was moved to write today as I see the "tit for tatting" between the Repubs and Dems over the waterboarding briefings. Poor Nancy is trying to make the English language work wonders to get her out of this mess where she allegedly was briefed about waterboarding in 2003 but had no particular objections at that time.

So the Repubs, or some of them, are hammering her with some convoluted logic that only rabid Conservatives can fathom. Let's move on from this old news, as the President is trying to do, and quit tossing this issue in the air hoping it will land on its feet.

The country has so much to do to right itself so these politicians (read children) need to stop the bickering soon and get down to real work, or "Mom and Dad" might start to restrict privileges.

The "you did it first - I did not" debate is tiring and off message. While we cannot yet "fire" those in office, many are tempted to say, "All right Buster, you're grounded". Not a bad idea.