Head-Fake Right, Ball Goes Left
It’s a close game, and with time ticking off the clock, the home team is on defense. The other team has possession of the ball, and they run it out of bounds to stop the clock. They have one more chance to run a play, but with 80 yards of the field between them and the end-zone, the quarterback steps into the huddle with instructions from the coach for one last “Hail Mary” play. Unfortunately, the ball is mishandled on the snap, and the while the quarterback picks it right back up, he’s already killed the initiative. His receivers are trying to get open with every head-fake known to man, but the defense is on it, and the ball is in the air, and just shy of the 20 yard-line, the ball is picked-off by a quick corner-back.
Off to the races, and down the sideline he goes, unopposed for a stand-up touchdown. He could have ducked out of bounds at any time and ended the game, but he wanted to deliver a message: “I’ve seen this play before, and it will never work again.” The losing quarterback looks on in horror, knowing he’s lost the game, but the corner-back isn’t finished, and in an act of celebratory sportsmanship, Mark America spikes the ball. Mr. Obama, you’re a terrible quarterback and only the ineptitude of our own offense has kept you in this game this long.
Does he really believe we will fall for this, or is this simply aimed at the unthinking folks who get their news in three-second sound-bites from MSNBC? President Obama presented a number of fine-sounding capitalistic ideals, intermixed with the pure statism, but the truth is that he squandered all his initiative when he mentioned the manner in which it would be paid. Take all the fine head-fakes out of this speech, and what you are left with is really just more of the same. The new stimulus, which they won’t call stimulus, is to be paid for by adding to the deficit-deficit Congress is already likely unable to address later this year. As I said, it was a head-fake to fiscal responsibility, but that of which it really consists is more smoke and mirrors, and more can-kicking that doesn’t advance the ball down the field, and will ultimately only add to our disaster.
There were a number of relative novelties in the speech, also part of the head-fake, referencing the pledge of allegiance as he did without dropping “under God.” What wasn’t novel was his continued reliance on the hand-outs to the education establishment and the unions. This is the most thinly disguised program of alleged economic stimulus on record. One might ask why he keeps going back to the same play-book, and the answer is simple: He’s got nothing else. Ideologically, he’s simply incapable of rejecting more statism, although this time he wrapped it all up in red, white and blue bunting.
There can be no escape from reality, and yet what Barack Obama offered today was a farce. He threw in a few temporary measures such as tax credits for business, and more short-run tax cuts for individual tax-payers, but he insists on raising taxes on the wealthy. He insists on paying for this with imaginary cuts added to other imaginary cuts, but there’s no honest proposal here. What Mr. Obama has accomplished would be everything he set out to do, if it weren’t for that one corner-back who intercepted his big lie. Now truth be told, if you watched his speech, you noticed the same things, but many of your friends and family won’t have been watching since this President is a ratings disaster almost equal to the economic one that he represents.
This speech was pure political theater, which is why Boehner should have refused it when first proposed, or he should have offered the President the 2am pacific time slot for this load of continually stinking refuse. Sadly, the Republican leadership hasn’t been good at office, and is much happier when on defense since others like you and me will carry their water.
It’s a farce to suggest that we can stimulate the economy with temporary tax cuts and more spending programs all paid for by increased taxes on the rich and more magical, imaginary cuts we all know we will never, ever see. This was propaganda for the sound-bite news gatherers, in order to help ratchet up his own base. If Speaker Boehner had any kind of fortitude, he’d stand up and tell the President: Not good enough. DOA. We will see how the Republicans react to this nonsense, but I have fears about their willingness to stand once the “killing babies, killing seniors, and killing jobs” rant begins.
They’ve been timid and terrified at every turn. The only good news to come out of this is that it was likely seen in not many more households than watches MSNBC. We’ve had enough of this propaganda, and at this late hour, we need to send in a back-up. We need to fire the coach. I can see November 2012 from my house. Can you?
Related posts:
- Taking the Advice of Barack Obama’s Cronies One of the themes we’ve heard repeatedly from the mouths...
- Barack Obama’s Willful Disobedience of His Oath In what has become the ordinary manner of operation by...
- Pick Your Poison: Bad or Worse? Today’s news seems only to offer a choice between the...
- A First Step to Restoring our Economy: Drill Baby, Drill! It’s a sad fact: For each dime the price of...
- Downgraded America: We Warned Them None of the events of Friday night are the slightest...
