A version of what is called a Kabuki Theater of the bizarre is taking place in Washington D.C. This presentation features President Barack in the lead role, backed by a cast of political actors that are unfit to appear on this nation's center stage. All of these ethically-challenged individuals, charged with the responsibility of governing our county, are performing in a manner best described as bizarre, despicable.

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A version of what is called a Kabuki Theater of the bizarre is taking place in Washington D.C. This presentation features President Barack in the lead role, backed by a cast of political actors that are unfit to appear on this nation's center stage. All of these ethically-challenged individuals, charged with the responsibility of governing our county, are performing in a manner that could best be described as both bizarre and despicable.

The American people are watching this charade going on in the nation's capitol and are shaking their heads in utter amazement at what they see. This is like some kind of nightmarish presentation that continues on with no seeming end. If this theater production were being presented on Broadway, the actors would be jeered, pelted with eggs and tomatoes, and booed off the stage.

While this country remains under economic siege and is bleeding profusely from many self-inflicted wounds, those who were given the responsibility to find the ways to stop this hemorrhaging have now proven that they are not up to the task. This country and its society are staggering under the weight of endless wars, joblessness, corporate greed and corruption, and mounting violence. The people cry out for help but none is forthcoming.

While a typical Kabuki presentation is generally well choreographed with impeccable acting, what is going on in Washington with this Congress and the Obama administration is anything but that; it has turned into an ugly standoff between two sets of bad actors, opposing political entities that are locked into their own ideologies with no common ground or any ability to begin to compromise in any way.

This dark specter of sequestration, as has been pointed out by numerous respected economists and academics such as Paul Krugman and Robert Reich, is something that could easily be prevented; it is no more than a fabricated emergency, one that involves governmental incompetence of the highest degree. The real danger lies in the fact that this sequester has the potential to severely damage this economy at the very time that it is struggling to recover. Those in the know say that austerity is not the way to go and that the time-tested method of infusion of government funds to stimulate the economy is what is badly needed at this crucial time.

But the most troubling part of this entire bizarre process is the fact that so many of these pathetic politicians are perfecting willing to take this nation to the brink of disaster and to allow this country to absorb yet more blows to its economic foundations. That's not just being disloyal to this country; it's committing political treason.

The position of the Republicans could not be more clear; they are totally committed to the advancement of the interests of Corporate America and the wealthiest Americans who they serve; in doing so they have not the slightest feeling of shame or guilt as they answer only to their masters who use the power of their money and influence to control this government. Their actions represent the height of irresponsibility; their actions and behavior are reprehensible and they are beyond recovery or rehabilitation.

But what of the performance of Mr. Obama who likes to view himself as a president who stands up for their interests and welfare of the people of America no matter how difficult that might be. Once again, he seems to be headed in the direction of last minute appeasement and capitulation to the GOP and its axis of political hacks, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and Eric Cantor who seem to hold some kind of spell over him.

Here we have a president who, in his foreign polity, remains very aggressive and on the offensive by launching deadly drones into the air space and across the borders of nations with which we are not at war. But on the domestic front, this same president is continually on the defensive as he is seemingly incapable of launching a counterattack to the Republican's crazed obsession with a program of misguided austerity that will further cripple this already weak and declining economy.

What's going on with this impending sequester can be likened to a poker game, one in which the stakes are very high. The Republicans are past masters at the art of bluffing even when they know they don't have the winning hand. Conversely Mr. Obama is not a very good poker player and he has been known to throw in a winning hand because of his fear that his opponents may have an ace up their sleeve.

He seems to have a predisposition for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. And if he bends and breaks at the last moment and comes up with more concessions involving this sequester the losers in this game will be the people of this nation. He has had the Republican sociopaths up against the ropes but he apparently can't deliver the knockout blow. This is the man who handily won the election and had the majority of the American people solidly behind him. But you would never know it by his failure to take charge of this terrible dilemma that now faces this nation.

One thing that continues to be a troubling point with the American people is the fact that this president keeps putting the issue of Social Security cuts back on the table. His latest move has been to offer up a "Chained CPI" that would, in effect, cancel out $130 billion of future benefits that seniors will need to keep up with inflation.

The large majority of Americans are fully aware that Social Security, which is self-funded and self-sustaining, has nothing to do with the national deficit and should have no part in this discussion. But this conflicted president continues to ignore their concerns and keeps offering it up as a concession to Republican demands. This is an absolute craven betrayal of the American people who should, by now, realize that this is a man that can no longer be trusted.

The general belief among many Americans is that President Obama's performance in this presentation has been and continues to be extremely disappointing; that he is just not up to the task, not up to the challenge and that he is in over his head as the appears to be falling into another Republican trap. Clever and astute in the art of politics do not fit this president; naïve and susceptible to manipulation certainly do. At least that's what, on the surface, seems to be the case.

However, there may be much more involved here than we think; that there is something much more troubling going on. It's true that most of Americans continue to consider this a battle between Republicans and Democrats, but there is a growing number of observers in this country who see this seeming charade not so much as a massive confrontation between these two adversaries but, rather, as some sort of shrewd behind-the-scenes collusive deal; some kind of ploy that hides what's really happening. Could something like that actually be in process, is that what these two parties are doing in concert? Whatever is going on, if the past is any indication of what the future holds, we can be sure that it will bring more pain and misery on the people of this country.

This Kabuki Theater of the bizarre and absurd presents a stark picture of political deceit and manipulation of the highest order. And as this dark theatrical presentation enters its final act over the next days, weeks and months it most certainly will be recorded in history as a most pitiful, pathetic performance by those who have been entrusted with governing this nation.

Michael Payne