1.26.2010

To America: What Were You Expecting, Exactly?

State of the Union address tomorrow--9 p.m. ET, watch it online at whitehouse.gov (okay how awesome is their use of Web 2.0? Can someone tell me how it looks on a smartphone?)


Anyway, it seems like the general expectation is that Obama's got to apologize for all the campaign promises he failed to complete...but those promises were kind of ridiculous anyway! I mean, yeah, Dems want the free healthcare and the no more deficit and the end to the war...but, hello, reality? Realistically speaking, he shouldn't be dicking around with natural disasters in poor, exploitable-resource-lacking countries, but the human and the political angles demand it. (Also, he probably is feeling a little guilt from this Nobel Peace Prize thing.)

So...liberals really need to stop the bitching about the lack of sell on shit. As for conservatives, really? No matter what he does, you're going to be all attacky about it (and this isn't just me, the esteemed conservative pundit Stephen Colbert thinks so, too). No wonder shit's falling to pieces. I mean, yeah, I don't like the idea of a fully Democratic government. I think there should at least be a Republican majority in the House, to make sure that compromises happen but also to ensure that shit still gets done (the deadlocks when the President's on one side and Congress is on another are just...fucking stupid). But still, swing with the fucking times! Call the Dems out for the pork that's getting tossed into the healthcare bill, but also do your best to make sure that bill doesn't fuck the rest of us over! (And by 'us,' I do not just mean the 5% wealthiest white males.)

I do think Obama's overreaching himself a bit--hope and change and a little too much with the idealism, but well that is what got him the presidency in the first place. He has giant plans for domestic improvement. It's just that, the way things are going, foreign affairs are kind of taking precedence right now.

But maybe he needs to step back a bit, and delegate better. Turn over the budget deficit to the Fed, since it's generally their policies that affect the damn thing. Yeah, Obama will be held responsible for a lot of stuff. But he's already proven his ability as a speaker, and as a swift responder, to diffuse perhaps-misdirected criticisms (such as in the wake of the Christmas Day bomber...his ratings actually went up afterwards, eat that, Dubya).


Also, what the hell is with people blaming the current government for barely one year of shit. You guys do realize that issues tend to be long-term, right? And that, for one, the Depression took like ten years to escape, and it was only that short because of WWII? I mean, saying it's the Democrats or the Republicans alone is both wrong and stupid (although I confess, I totally think the Dems have a better chance of fixing stuff by not just leaving it alone and letting it fester).

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