Will Obama be a Winner?
November 3rd, 2008, by Richard Okelberry - While I don’t care for the idea of Barrack Obama as President, what scares me most and what I feel most should be concerned about is the fact that the Democrat Party is very likely to sweep both the House and the Senate in this election. I have long held the political philosophy that our government is most efficient when no one party; Democrat or Republican holds power over both the House and the Senate. Now add to the mix the idea of having Barrack Obama as President and we having the makings for a Perfect Political Storm in Washington. In reality, with the exception of a few key divisive issues, there is not a huge chasm between the Democrats and Republicans when each has total power. The one thing that will be certain if Obama is elected is that we will see a rapid increase in government spending, an expansion of entitlement programs and ever increasing taxes to pay for it. With no counterbalance from an opposing political party, the Democrats will be free to enact every program that they have ever dreamt of and spend money however they see fit. The doors to the U.S. Treasury will be flung open fort least the next two years.
While I am sure many liberals see this as a joyous opportunity to put into practice many of their political philosophies, I would argue that with all this new power comes a great responsibility. If things go as predicted and Democrats are successful they will have no excuses at all for failing to turn the economy around, end the war in Iraq, eliminate the need for fossil fuels, stop global warming, stick it to the rich and major corporations like Wal-Mart, provide more funding for teachers and education, provide medical coverage for EVERYONE who doesn’t have it and capture Osama bin Laden. While this is certainly an impressive laundry list, I imagine most liberals are completely confident that their appointed officials are up to these tasks and then some.
Remember, if this election goes as “planned” there will be no Conservatives to blame for failure two years from now. Worse, if the nation slips into a long term recession or heaven forbid a depression and if Obama can’t get us out of Iraq without that country falling apart, he will likely be relegated to morbid list of one-term presidents. So will the “messiah,” Obama be remembered as the man who brought the country together and rallied us to victory during war time and economic turmoil? Or will he simply be another do-nothing blip in history only remembered for sending our nation further down the path to socialism and for losing another war? What will be the historical legacy of America’s first Black President? We will have to see.
National | rokelberry November 4, 2008
By rokelberry, November 5, 2008 @ 10:04 am
Because of a screw up with the database, this original post had to be flushed. Here are the original responses to this essay.
rmwarnick
I have no doubt that the right-wingers who dominate the media will refuse to give President Obama credit for anything he does right, and castigate him 24/7 for any perceived shortcomings in his administration, no matter how slight. Remember how they went after Clinton?
You have to admire Bush’s ability to escape blame. How many calamities on his watch? The failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks, the failures of the global war on terror, the Iraq occupation and Afghanistan, the failure to help New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.
Finally, Wall Street deregulation leading to total collapse of the financial sector- all five major investment banking firms have gone under or merged to escape bankruptcy.
Bush even went on TV and admitted to multiple violations of federal law (FISA) over a four-year period. Was he impeached?
rokelberry
I am only speculating on reality, Richard W.
The reality is, when one party, Republican or Democrat runs the show they get all the glory but also get all the blame when things fail.
The reality is that this is no longer Bush’s war if Obama get’s elected. He ran on the ability to end the war and if he fails it will be his failure.
The reality is, the voters don’t look back into the past administration when deciding who is responsible for the economy. You are right, “fixing” things may take longer, but the public will not give Obama that opportunity. When the energy surrounding the campaign wears off, Obama better not let the people down. He has built himself up and now must perform. Look at how far it has gotten Republicans to blame the current financial calamity on Clinton.
Reality and public perception are almost always two different things. Obama’s speech writers might as well start writing the excuses now.
Take out your checkbook, it’s gonna be an expensive 4 years.
rmwarnick
I don’t envy Barack Obama, all he wins is a chance to try and repair the extensive damage done by the Bush administration. It may be an impossible task, certainly it will take more than four years. Meanwhile, any progressive agenda Democrats may have in mind will mostly be on hold.
It’s ironic you argue that the previous administration can’t be blamed after two years, when the loyal Bushies still frequently blame Clinton for their own failures. Even the current financial sector meltdown is Clinton’s fault, according to them.
As for Iraq, you should be aware that President Bush has already agreed to end the occupation and to withdraw all U.S. troops from the country by the end of 2011. It’s Bush’s fiasco from start to finish– not that the right-wing won’t try to blame Democrats like they always do!