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Friday, April 08, 2011
Obama takes ownership of every penny of federal overspending
From Obama's televised speech tonight on the short-term budget agreement (my transcription from DVR, italics mine):
Like any worthwhile compromise, both sides had to make tough decisions and give ground on issues that were important to them. And I certainly did that. Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful. Programs people rely on will be cut back. Needed infrastructure projects will be delayed. And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances.
Obama's handlers obviously didn't have time to polish the narcissism from this short speech, but now we know exactly what Barack Obama thinks of Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats: They're an extension of his will, puppets dancing at the end of the strings he alone holds.
I think Obama's assessment is actually pretty accurate — he's the proverbial 800-pound gorilla among a troop of preening baboons, and whenever he stirs himself to smack them around or goads them into a shrieking frenzy of poop-slinging, they do what he bids.
But the side effect of this is that Barack Obama can no longer hide behind the fig leaf of separation of powers. Obama can no longer plausibly claim to be representing the interests of the entire American people — just the interests of his party and its motley collection of special interest groups. When, for example, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz (D-FL) asserts of the GOP House's "Path to Prosperity" that "This plan would literally be a death trap for seniors," that is — not literally (which doesn't mean what she thinks it means) but politically — Barack Obama himself engaging in the most egregious and obvious fear-mongering and demagoguery. And if you're not among those he's already invited to the graft-and-handout trough, then you're on the other side.
Politically, if there was any doubt remaining among the naïve, that doubt has been conclusively erased:
Barack Obama is personally responsible for every penny of federal overspending. Period.
Posted by Beldar at 11:30 PM in Budget/economics, Congress, Current Affairs, Obama, Politics (2011), Ryan | Permalink
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Comments
(1) Gregory Koster made the following comment | Apr 9, 2011 1:02:04 AM | Permalink
Dear Mr. Dyer: But that's not how the press will spin it. Too, there's way too many fainthearts on the GOP side. Even Paul Ryan feels constrained enough to leave Social Security alone. That's not because SS is in great shape, but because he's feeling dam exposed and way out in front of everyone. That's why such issues as the Prosser judicial race in Wisconsin are important. This helps keep the pressure on the Dems and the press. More, the fainthearts must be kept invigorated. Nothing will succeed like success. But it's going to be hard won. The One may turn his attention to administration and the judiciary. There, the Senate is far more important than the House.
So yes, Speaker Boehner & Co. Well done. What's next?
Sincerely yours,
Gregory Koster
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