“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” —Thomas Jefferson
Pessimists see the glass half empty; optimists see the glass half full. I guess I am somewhere in between, because I see a glass half full of water and think, “Hey, there is ample room for bourbon!”
We have a government that insists on making everything partisan and making contingency plans for nothing. But there are a few good things that might happen from all of this:
- Since the government was partners with BP in this drilling endeavor, this failure by Obama will make Americans realize how inept our government is when we really need it. Perhaps it will slow the statist agenda of Obama and his power-hungry Democrats.
- It might help us realize that our health care comes from our doctors and hospitals, not the government. Its involvement has seldom made a value proposition better; our current government just gums things up and tries to shake people down for a cut of the action. Obama has torpedoed the oil companies, health care, insurance and financial institutions. I am going to invest in Iranian nuclear development, because that is the only growing business sector Obama will not attack.
- The heat has been turned up on Rahm “Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste” Emanuel, which, along with being named in the Blagojevich trial, might send that weasel packing. I hope he announces he will soon be leaving the Obama White House, presumably to spend more time cursing out his own family.
- His actions to date have exposed Obama for what he is: arrogant, delusional, and in way over his head. He has been quick to compare himself to Abraham Lincoln or FDR, but I really think he is more a Dwight “Eisenhower-lite,” in that he has escalated wars, fired generals who disparaged him, and played a lot of golf. Obama says he is “with the Gulf Coast for the long-haul” or until the 2012 election, whichever comes first.
- High-tax, big-union, Democrat-ruled states like New York, New Jersey and California are close to defaulting on various debt obligations and find it hard to finance themselves. This, along with Greece’s debt issues, will make voters think about the trajectory Obama has us following.
This administration has trampled the Constitution and bullied companies in populist ways unthinkable two years ago. Texas Rep. Joe Barton pointed this out recently in the Congressional BP hearings, going contrary to the lynch mob mentality pervasive in Washington. He apologized for the manner in which Obama shook down a private company in an attempt to control that $20 billion fund, and was viciously attacked by both Democrats and Republicans for it. Therefore, he must have been correct.
With this reparations- and affirmative action-driven president, those of us who have to pay for his damage to our budget and the Constitution should demand that Obama establish a “victim’s fund” to help those who actually pay taxes.
He constantly makes grand proclamations and statements on problems he lacks the ability to solve. It is like he is still campaigning for office. Some say he is either grossly incompetent or lying. It might surprise them to know that I disagree with that statement; I think he is both.
If there is a silver lining, it is that Obama and his big-government agenda have been revealed as impotent to those swing voters in the middle who fell prey to his slick oratorical skills. He is a finely tailored, “half-empty” suit.
With all his mistakes and the fact that the economy has not bounced back as it should have by now, the good news is that Obama should be a one-term president. This president has failed so badly that even Rosalynn Carter is starting to compare him to Jimmy Carter.
These are the positives I make out of all these negatives. I just hope there is another Ronald Reagan out there, waiting in the wings, who can win in 2012 and restore confidence in the economy by making America once again a place where investors want to create businesses and hire our workers. More than anything else right now, Americans need a visionary who instills confidence and will trust them to make decisions for themselves—and then, per Thomas Jefferson, who will get out of the way.
Ron Hart is a syndicated libertarian op-ed humorist, author and TV/radio commentator. E-mail Ron@RonaldHart.com or visit: RonaldHart.com