Frustration

Okay so I’ve had enough. I sit in my car and listen to the inflected bloviation on talk radio. I’ve read opinion after opinion on Obama, and the economy. It’s not like I can wax impartiality, but I’ll try.
The real problem I have of the criticism from the for-profit opinion makers Neil Boortz, Michael Savage, and other incarnations (and I’m aware that there are plenty on the left too. . .) Is their myopic perspective on the administrations agenda. They perpetuate ideas that strike fear in the American people not out of principal but on cliche’s. Boortz claimed that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is nothing but a valentine from Obama to the special interests group. That his first major act of his presidency is a payoff to those that got him elected. (He forgets that Obama’s record breaking haul was primarily funded by $200.00 or less individual donations) Michael Savage is throwing out fears to his hysteric audience that the wool has been pulled over our eyes and that Obama’s first major television interview taking place on an Arabic news channel should be a “red flag” of sorts. Rush Limbaugh had an Ann Coulter moment this week when he claimed that he hopes that “Obama fails”. (Probably good for his ratings) I don’t see how this criticism is in anyway constructive. How does an impetuous comment by these blowhards equate to honest dissent. This is nothing but a spill over of the sour milk sentiment since the election. These criticisms don’t discuss the merit of the decision, the content of the measure, or the intentions of the man. This is the very thing that has expanded the schism in America during the Bush Administration. The “Great Decider” was not a president that believed in a unified country. It was his way or the highway. This is not the behavior of a leader, and I never once heard the blowhards condemn his divisive management style. Progress is made through dialogue, not entrenched opinions manifested in yelling louder to validate the view.
Another problem I have with the post-election America is the belief that Obama only won the election because he was black. That the electorate that voted for him made the uninformed decision because of an “identity politics”. People forget the 2004 election where Bush was put over the top by the “gay marriage” ballot box. People play dumb when they suggest that Bush didn’t play religious politics to put him over in both elections. People forget that racism is still a force in this country and that some voted against Obama because of this bigotry. People forget that black is still the minority. So the truth of the matter is that Obama’s skin color was a factor, but not the lopsided one that is suggested. There’s this video being circulated of an African American woman claiming that she was voting for Obama because she didn’t want to pay her mortgage. Like this video doesn’t have a multiplicity of counterparts against Obama arguing some other absurdity.
I think that Obama hasn’t surprised any of us with the closing of Guantanamo, his funding of hospitals that perform abortions, his focus on changing emission and fuel-standards for cars (shoot, we’ll own them before long), and his push to get the stimulus package in place. The Bush Administration gave $350 billion dollars to the crooks in Wall Street. Some of these companies in dire straits have spent money on corporate retreats, executive bonuses, and the most recent a $50 billion dollar luxury jet by Citigroup. All of this kind of makes me feel dirty.
So far, the oath of office redux notwithstanding, I think he’s led with a cool head and a focus on bipartisanship. His commitment to transparency, and communication has been well received by both the left and the right. I don’t claim to know the future of the economy with or without stimulus. I’d rather leave that in the hands of the man that holds the full accountability on how it is spent and ultimately the effect. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that patriotism isn’t who’s the better Republican or Democrat. We are all in this together, and our diversity of views is what makes us great. Let’s put democracy to work, be open-minded, and remember that progress is only made when we further the dialogue.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."

Abraham Lincoln