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Sunday, March 15, 2009
It's "Morning-After in America"
I've taken a multi-week hiatus from blogging during the Obama Administration's honeymoon, but David Broder has declared the honeymoon to be officially over now.
(Many thanks to those who've sent me encouragement or expressed concern via comments or emails during my silence. I'm fine; so's my family; I've just been focused on things other than blogging.)
I wish I had something terribly original, or even derivative-but-clever, to say about the events of the last several weeks, but I don't. I will offer one small observation, though, about one of the prominent sideshows of that period:
I don't care whether, or in exactly what sense, Rush Limbaugh — or anyone else — "wants Obama to fail." The reason: I'm already certain that the policies and actions which Obama has undertaken, and therefore he, will fail — regardless of whether you or I or Rush Limbaugh are "rooting" for them. I can't yet predict exactly when and how, no more than I could predict exactly when and how the Soviet Union would eventually fall apart; but the ultimate result is even more certain, and for reasons that are indeed related.
No, I'm not calling Barack Obama a communist. But he shares with them the ridiculous self-confidence that they, or anyone, are smart enough to manage an economy through government action, and an inadequate appreciation for the likelihood that government action will make things worse rather than better. Almost every single thing that Obama has done in his short time in office will end up making us less prosperous, less secure, and less free.
For every moderate, conservative, or libertarian who voted for Obama because you couldn't develop any enthusiasm for McCain and you bought into the notions that Obama was a "moderate" and "extremely competent," I have one word, and one value judgment: Suckers! Shame on you, because you willfully blinded yourself to the mountains of contrary evidence by donning the political equivalent of beer-goggles. Your reckless gamble on untested hopey-changitude is going to cost us all for the next four years. Repent at your leisure.
Despite my outrage, however, and my contempt for the Administration and the Democrats in Congress, I remain fundamentally optimistic. America is strong enough to survive even the blundering, irresponsible novice now living at 1600 Pennsylvania. There will be a huge cost and much unpleasantness. But we got through Jimmy Carter. We'll get through Barack Obama.
Posted by Beldar at 12:37 PM in 2008 Election, Congress, McCain, Obama | Permalink
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Comments
(1) Donna B. made the following comment | Mar 15, 2009 5:38:39 PM | Permalink
Heck, I couldn't even understand why Obama was touted as eloquent, much less competent.
(2) Michael J. Myers made the following comment | Mar 15, 2009 8:16:51 PM | Permalink
Mr. Dyer, I'm glad to see that you're back. I figured you were either up to your ears in a trial or just do dispirited by the train wreck in the Oval Office (the site of the wreck moves to wherever the wrecker in chief is "now appearing") that you couldn't bring yourself to say anything.
Like you, I'm optimistic that we'll soldier through all this--albeit we, and certainly I, will be the poorer for what Obama has done in order to ram his programs through.
In any case, glad to see you back. I enjoy what you and the other commenters on your blog have to say. There's usually something thoughtful there that's worth pondering (and what the heck, pondering may be all that I can afford to do by the time Obama finishes his work!)
(3) A.W. made the following comment | Mar 16, 2009 9:30:19 AM | Permalink
Great to have you back.
Yes, Obama is in over his head, and I voted for McCain without reservation. But I am not convinced that mccain could have done better in terms of actually running things. both men have a dearth of administrative experience, and mccain only beats obama in this area by a little.
To be blunt, this was the lamest group to run for the white house in decades. But i still think we might have done a little better with a president guiliani. When the British arrived with their gifts, he would have had an appropriate gift in response: bin Laden's head on a platter. :-)
(4) Wanda Madrid-Diaz made the following comment | Mar 16, 2009 2:13:22 PM | Permalink
Glad that you are back!
Thanks for writing what all are feeling, The last paragraph sums everything up.
“Despite my outrage, however, and my contempt for the Administration and the Democrats in Congress, I remain fundamentally optimistic. America is strong enough to survive even the blundering, irresponsible novice now living at 1600 Pennsylvania. There will be a huge cost and much unpleasantness. But we got through Jimmy Carter. We'll get through Barack Obama.”
We,as Americans, will get thorough the next 4 years, maybe in the next 2 we will have a better representation in Congress, one can only hope.
(5) Judith L made the following comment | Mar 16, 2009 3:27:01 PM | Permalink
Welcome back, Beldar. I was close to despair, wondering if you had given up blogging forever. Times like these require your brisk wit for morale's sake.
(6) boris made the following comment | Mar 16, 2009 6:33:31 PM | Permalink
But we got through Jimmy Carter
And still dealing with the messes he made and waiting for one of them to go nuclear. During the apparent administration of Carter II no less.
(8) Antimedia made the following comment | Mar 16, 2009 10:07:31 PM | Permalink
You may not call him a communist, my friend, but I will. He was born to communists mentored by communists as a child and spent most of his adult life working with a communist.
If it walks like a duck.....
(9) Carol Herman made the following comment | Mar 16, 2009 11:28:20 PM | Permalink
I dunno. But Lincoln, for instance, took cases that came his way. And, yes. He did argue for railroad titans. And, other sorts that aren't what you'd call "working for the People's interests." Still, a man has to earn a living.
And, Lincoln did it the hard way. On the back of a horse. Traveling the circuit. And, as I said, taking the case. Rather than picking the issues.
well? If you want Ethical behaviors, you need to let people to choose to throw away business. Meanwhile most judges know the first rule. Lawyers need to be paid. (Just like prostitutes. Earning hourly wages.) But go ahead, try to improve the ocean by telling people not to spit into it. Works for me.
(10) Carol Herman made the following comment | Mar 16, 2009 11:29:35 PM | Permalink
My comment is #9. But it's "ethically challenged." Since I didn't write the part about the "communist" and the "duck."
(11) Insufficiently Sensitive made the following comment | Mar 17, 2009 1:36:26 PM | Permalink
I mostly second #3, but had major reservations about Senator McCain also - he of the BCRA assault on the First Amendment, and exhibitionist hipshooter.
He certainly had more experience with the real world, and a hell of a lot less mentoring by the radical left.
But for the moment, the radical left holds the White House AND the Congress, but it looks like a few more months might bring some of them to their senses. There'll be some grevious damage to clean up after the O. admin, but unless they succeed in stamping out all initiative in the US we'll survive it.
(12) Kent G. Budge made the following comment | Mar 17, 2009 7:20:47 PM | Permalink
We'll survive. But there will be lasting damage from B.O.'s term in office.
Even [i]Huffington Post[/i] is beginning to show some buyer's remorse.
Meaning Obama has exceeded expectations. I didn't expect to see clear signs of buyer's remorse until around May or so.
(13) Paul_In_Houston made the following comment | Mar 18, 2009 8:58:29 PM | Permalink
"But we got through Jimmy Carter. We'll get through Barack Obama."
A looong time ago, I got through a wisdom tooth removal, by a country dentist trying to do what is normally handled by an oral surgeon. It was NOT an experience I'd ever want to repeat.
That's what I fear we are looking forward to.
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