Fifteen days into the new administration and already the long knives are starting to appear. Yesterday, the New York Times, yes, you heard me correctly, the New York Times actually wrote an article putting the bad mouth on Obama for his continued support of Tom Daschle as a cabinet member. The New York Times, the house organ for the Democratic Party came out and spoke negatively and later on in the day Daschle withdrew his name for nomination.
Some small tax matter as I recall. Doesn’t that make three nominees who have had to withdraw’Shame, shame we know your name…….
Actually for the first time in a number of months I’m beginning to enjoy myself. When Obama speaks, it’s almost like a deer caught in the headlights. I think it’s beginning to dawn upon him that campaign rhetoric can only go so far and that actual leadership and decisions, hard decisions aren’t as easy as they seem. Especially to someone who has never had any experience in making any types of decisions which effect lives, liberty and our national pursuit of happiness.
Look at his decision on Guantanamo, he has roared as a lion about closing it down within a year. But where to place all of those nasty folks who are locked up’If we take them into the United States they are subject to our laws….which Obama says he supports without reservation including no torture of any sort. So, what does he do’He signs an executive order allowing rendition which means these nasties can be sent to prisons in places with names ending in stan …like Pakistan….and Kazakhstan and other places you don’t notice in the cruise line advertisements. I bet those places are lovely and met the exacting standards that Obama had in mind, don’t you’
His press conference of the day came out with the startling revelation that the bonuses of big time executives were going to be limited to only $500,000. Wow, isn’t that great’He says he was shocked that the executives took advance of the first round of bailout monies and cut themselves checks for over eight billion dollars at the end of the year. Excuse me, but as I recall I think it was the Great One himself who criticized Senator McCain when he came back to Washington to discuss the bailout in October. Obama stated that McCain wasn’t needed and that he (Obama) had the bailout package under control and the three page document was all that was necessary for the distribution of nearly eight hundred billion dollars. Well, it looks to me like they might have wanted to put some rules in their document on how the money could be spent, but then again I’m just a dumb old citizen, what do I know’
Besides, how many ways can an executive get paid’Let’s see, give him only a buck a year, but add in several million stock options, some nice perks like car and driver (oops, sorry Tom Daschle) a vacation spot in the south of France, corporate jet to fly you places and a generous deferred compensation plan. Tell me they can’t beat the system. Look at Henry Paulson, he got over five hundred million in tax free cash by accepting the slot as the secretary of the treasury. He had to divest himself of his stock options at Goldman Sachs when he took the position and guess what the good old IRS did’They just let him do so without paying any tax. They waived his tax liability in view of his acceptance of the appointment. Most of us would have worked for a couple of years for free if given that same opportunity. Oh, well it was for the good of the country. Yeah, right. This one was on Bush’s watch and can’t be laid at the feet of the Great One.
One more thing and then I’ll go. Obama stated in his campaign speeches that he would not allow ‘any lobbyists’ to be a part of his team. Well, guess what’Several of his team are and were lobbyists. But the wonderful President just shook his magic wand and dismissed the criticism by saying ‘there had to be exceptions to every rule’. Those words should be carved on his future presidential library wall.
This is shaping up to be an interesting year.
Stay tuned for more.