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It's become apparent that Americans no longer respect the office of the presidency. Why should they? Clinton's cigars, the profound stupidity of Bush Junior, Pop Bush's read my lips and now Obama's deceit is enough testament that winning the presidency is most certainly not a reflection of the winner's character, honesty or even good intention. Obama, beginning his presidency, surrounded himself with the architects of the financial meltdown. His Chief Economic Advisor, Lawrence Summers, doesn't respect him. He dozes while Obama drones through another speech.
Obama, the left's worst nightmare, and the right's gleeful affirmation of all they had hoped for in a black democrat, has nominated Elena Kagan to replace Supreme Court Justice Judge Stevens. The right doesn't need to win elections when democrats so readily adopt their ideology When brand X falls to brand Y, it's not because one is superior to the other. It's because one out advertises the other. The same can be said for presidential elections.
The presidency is like a Cracker Jack's prize. "Let's Make A Deal," closely approximates the winner of the presidency on election night, when the winning contestant, along with his victorious staff, goes nuts. The presidency allows the winner to fly around in a luxury jet. He visits exotic ports of call. He pretends his shrewd negotiating skills win concessions from his foreign counterparts. Brass bands and cheap bunting are the trappings of power that, removed, will usually reveal an unsuitable and unqualified fraud posing as a leader. Maybe Britain has the right idea, with its King and Queen. At least their subjects can believe that a drop of royal blood qualifies them as leaders.
When a fool like George W. Bush is ushered into office, without winning a popular majority, he responds as if he's actually the vitally important man he's hyped up to be, and the office of the presidency lets him get away with it. Bush was startled to learn that he, as the president, was in charge of all military power. "You mean I'm, like, the General of the Army? The Navy? The uh, uh?"
"Not quite, Sir. In the Navy you'd be the admiral. But getting back " you are in charge of the whole ball of wax. That's what commander in chief means, sir."
Obama, not quite as stupid as Dubya, worries about whether or not he looks presidential. He knows he's a fraud, which at least puts him above his predecessor, who actually thought he'd gotten elected, and believed himself to be a legitimate president. Whatever may be, the U.S. Presidency is a World Class joke. Only Americans believe in its sanctity. And of course, its presidents. China has been laughing at the U.S. for thirty years. Americans must borrow evermore larger amounts of money if they wish to continue their life styles. A trillion from the Chinese, almost that much from Japan. The U.S. also owes Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
The republicans have convinced Americans that taxes are the bane of the nation's very existence, when in truth, we wouldn't owe the company store trillions of dollars if Americans paid taxes. The ever shrinking tax revenues the government collects goes to social programs for the many corporate welfare cases. China watches U.S. capitalism screw the pooch, and finds American ignorance amusing. The U.S. is a thoroughly deluded nation whose citizens still haven"t grasped that their living under a corporate oligarchy. Another cup of tea?
Undignified, lazy and corrupt opportunists, willing to grovel for the chance to be president, should be a national embarrassment. But that's why pomp and circumstance are vital. Ceremony, no matter how hollow, will cement some character from the eighty first, heavily republican/democratic district, as worthy of the honor of pretending to statesmanship with all of its attendant circumstance. Next thing you know the man you previously regarded as a couple quarts short of a gallon is the president, and if you're not careful you'll start believing the damned fool actually represents you.
The media joins in the hoax. A lucky lottery winner, whose prize is the presidency of the U.S, is sworn in. The dumb sot hasn't the slightest clue of how to go about fixing anything. He's not even aware there's anything broken. Oh, sure. All of them promise change, as all of them must. Otherwise how could there be anything wrong? And why would anyone vote? Republicans, beginning with Reagan, began fixing the government which wasn't broken. But that was the point. Government had to be destroyed to make way for corporate fascism. Destroying the tax base was very effective in bringing down the nation.
In 1960 the U.S. had a higher infant mortality rate than 11 countries. By 2004 the rate had climbed with the U.S. reporting a higher rate than 28 countries. In 2009, the U.S. ranked second from the bottom in infant mortality. Only Slovakia had a higher rate than the U.S.
Reagan's budget cuts brought R&D to a near stop until foreign nations stepped in and began funding the best and brightest American researchers. This meant, of course, that discoveries and advancements in the science disciplines were owned by whichever foreign country was funding the research.
The U.S no longer leads the world in educating its children. About the time that Bill Bennett, Reagan's Secretary of Education, was saying the U.S. budgeted too much money for the Dept. of Education, the U.S. has been dropping in world rankings with other advanced nations. The U.S. has fallen to 18th place out of 36 nation's studied for their graduation rates, and the degree of difficulty of their math and science curriculums. It is statistics like these that worry the nation's economists. Richard Freeman is an economics professor at Harvard University. Says he, "We've been asleep for a good number of years as a country. The other guys are moving faster."
The President, the Congress and the Supremes make up a clumsy, inefficient and ineffective government with all three branches tugging in opposite directions. These days, a newly elected president, wouldn't know to spray WD-40 on a squeaky door hinge. Once installed, like a concrete anchor, the president begins an elaborate ruse that he can point at to show he's on the ball. Obama chooses door number three, and makes off with the jackpot. Suddenly, from a Junior Congressman, he's vaulted into the presidency. Within weeks, the heady power that Alex Tribek's Jeopardy winner feels, is transferred to an uncertain, uncommitted self styled demagogue, whose half baked policies fail miserably because he thinks he'll get re-elected on their strength. This is not the correct way to run a railroad.
As the lucky winner's presidency continues their must be a constant barrage of media information criticizing or praising. Media hype, leading up to the lucky man's re-election, helps convince the public that government, making an incredibly noisy racket, must be doing something. Adding to the tumultuous din is the presidents peculiar strategy that he hopes will work to get him re-elected.
Obama, is probably the first president to deliberately plan a campaign of elaborate deception. Promising things that are later not delivered is a practical, but unavoidable circumstance, that all presidents must accept as peculiar to the office. Obama, however, made numerous declarations that played directly upon the hopes of Progressive Democrats. He never had the slightest intention of fulfilling any of the promises that got him elected. His Health Care Plan will end up being the stake through the heart of what little remains of government provided care - Medicare and Medicaid.
It seems impossible that he could be re-elected. His progressive support will listen to his smooth speeches and further promises. But they'll know, this time, that Obama speaks with forked tongue, and his promises don"t mean beans. Obama has broken new ground. Every Progressive Democrat who runs for the presidency will be met with a highly skeptical support base. Does this guy mean a damn word he's saying? Or is he another Obama? Obama's legacy is one of destroyed trust, and without trust, future Democrats contending for the presidency, are going to have a tough time selling their campaign platforms to burned voters who will be watching the hopeful contender jaundiced eye.
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