Saturday Political Soap Box 7

Is President Obama a great President? I am a huge fan of our current president, but even I would have to say the jury's out on that one. That may be something only history can judge. I do respect and admire much of his efforts, even if I don't think many have gone far enough.


As a progressive/liberal, it is tough realizing we are not going far enough to solve the problems that we have. Achingly simple solutions to many of our problems stare us in the face, and many Americans wear blinders that do not allow them to even consider them. The President may have only moved us a few tiny inches in the progressive direction, but even that has been painful to achieve.


I am disappointed that I don't have a president that will take on the Republicans and their associated entrenched special interests. After so many brutal years under Reagan/Bush, it would have felt so real good to push back hard. I still think that President Obama needs to take them to the mat on something and smack them down hard, so hard that they have difficulty getting back up again. But he won't do that. Why? Because the White House strategists think that if Obama comes on strong, people won't see a strong and effective President. They will see an angry black man. For more on this, please my article in The Strait Line about the Blazing Saddles moment. I think they're wrong. Well, I pray that they are wrong.


I knew in 2008 that the gigantic problems that Bush Jr. had left us with were so mammoth that they were virtually unsolvable. I knew that failure was 100% certain if we elected McCain/Palin. I thought they still was an 80% chance of failure if Obama was President, but at least there was a glimmer of hope.


Now that he has been President for awhile I see that glimmer of hope starting to fade. Given the severity of what we are facing, he simply hasn't been bold enough. Like it or not, health care can only be fixed by single payer, and failing that, a public option was a must. Unions are being crushed in this country, and the Employees Free Choice Act is a necessity that has been just left to wither. Global warming is real and terrifying and it is mostly being ignored. We are not wrapping up the Bush/Cheney wars quickly and effectively enough. Financial reform has been pitiful, certainly not enough to prevent another meltdown. And failing to stop the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy from renewing - oy vey!


But nothing in what I'm complaining about can be made better by turning to RepubicCorp and their wholly owned subsidiary, TeaParty Amerika. And America in 2010 had an opportunity to give progressives a majority or to turn back the hands of time. Guess what they picked? When the history of this time is written, this knee jerk reaction by the American people will be front and center. Hopefully, more Americans will wake up as they are in Wisconsin and Michigan and Ohio and many other states, and go "What the hell was I thinking?"



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