Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Pragmatist In A Pear Tree

I am disappointed with President Obama so far. My buddy Luther says I should at least wait till he has been sworn in on Jan. 20. Obama himself keeps offering the excuse, “We only have one President at a time.” I think Barack Obama mis-overestimates the numerical value of George Bush in his final daze as President.

Obama has invited Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren to say the prayer at The Inauguration. Warren suckered Obama into participating in a debate on religious values during the election, and it was one of Obama’s worse performances. Let those Evangelicals get their own President, if they want one. There are plenty of Obama- supporting clergymen and clergywomen to choose from out in San Francisco. And what kind of name is Saddleback, anyway? Sounds a lot like that movie about ambiguous cowboy behavior?

Obama should get busy taking care of the country. Plenty of problems have been piling up. Mortgage forclosures, stock market failures, dried-up credit, business falling apart right and left, unemployment.

Why is Obama keeping Bush’s Secretary of Defense Robert Gates? Of course Gates looked like an improvement over that arrogant and wrong-headed Donald Rumsfeld. Who wouldn’t? Obama promised a 16-month timetable to get U.S. troops out of Iraq. Now Iraq and the U.S. have signed an agreement that looks a lot like the Obama plan. The Bush Administration calls it something else. You can call it “Mission Accomplished,” if you want. But why not turn the process over to somebody who never liked the war in the first place? Robert Gates, a career CIA officer, named assistant Director of the CIA by one Republican President, and Director by another, is mighty cozy with the Defense Establishment. Retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones Jr. will be the new White House National Security Advisor. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has been nominated for Secretary of Homeland Security. At least she is not a former CIA agent or military general. I don’t see why there have to be so many military people in charge of national defense.

I also don’t get it about Obama’s naming Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Then on top of that, he goes and gives Tom Daschle two jobs, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as any desk he wants for work space in the White House where he can spread out his blueprint for the overhaul of the Health Care System. Hillary Clinton was ready on day one to pick up where she left off 15 years ago with Hillary Care. Now, she will be so busy globetrotting, looking into every hopeless international mess caused by bullies and psychopaths from one world capital to the other, she will be lucky to ever be in the same room with a discussion of U.S. healthcare reform. Tom Daschle, former Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, is just another deal-maker and horse-trader.

All in all, Obama’s cabinet will include five women, four blacks, three Hispanics, and two Asians.

Copyright 2008 by William C. Cotter

3 comments:

Tina said...

Obama is not sharing the decision making with Bush for the same reason that Roosevelt did not share the decision making with Hoover. He is right that there is only one president at a time and he doesn't want to be even partly responsible for the consequences of any of Bush's decisions. As for the appointments, I like 'em !
Big improvement over Bush's gang of greedy cretins.

Anonymous said...

Adam says we will see soon enough how things really pan out ! Merry Christmas to all of the Pine Lake gang!

Anonymous said...

I think Paw Paw Bill is pulling our leg again.

 

Hit Counter
Boden Clothes