Was I not, just the other day, giving props to Obama and the Democrats for "getting" the message of the Massachusetts election? I was. Too soon, too soon.
The State of the Union Speech schooled me, and in no uncertain terms.
Now, to be fair, Obama gives great speech. This speech was engaging, and though about 30 minutes too long, split a path down the middle of the American political pasture. As a politician, it was nicely done. As a leader, it left a lot to be desired. There were some good parts, and some disastrous parts. First the good:
1. He hammered the Bush administration. It sounded a little whiney, but that is good. Every time that CNN, or even Fox brings up his criticism of Bush and the Republican majority, the criticism of Bush and Republicans will be back in public consideration. He should have been doing this for the last year. Even if the question is asked critically, the question will be asked out there: "are you really saying that Bush fucked everything up?" During the speech, he repeatedly came back to hammer on the Republicans. Can't hurt, unless you're a pussy (00ps!).
2. He alluded to taxing the rich. He talked about how revenue was needed. Blah, blah, blah. I need more information on this one, and need to know if he is really going to fight for this in Congress. Still, I like to hear it.
3. Bank fees. No shit, how obvious is this. By the way, Democrats stood up for this applause line, but no Republicans did. This is a great visual, and should be a Democratic ad in the fall election.
4. Talked about ending tax cuts for oil companies, etc. Big talk, I'd like to see it. But still, there is a shadow of a liberal message here, or even a pro-worker/family message here, mind you a shadow.
5. Said he would end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Again, he could have done it by now with the stroke of a pen. Is he really gonna' do it before fall of 2010? I do not suggest holding your breath.
6. Talked about stopping the hemmoraging of jobs to overseas factories. Yeah, good luck without specifics. He also made Republicans stand up and cheer when he said he would strengthen trade deals with Asia, so again, no breath holding.
Now, let's review how this speech was a disaster for any hope of a progressive agenda from the Obama administration.
1. Repeated talk of tax cuts, and tax credits. Jesus man, we need to RAISE TAXES. For fuck's sake, we can't cut enough to fix the deficit, so we gots to raise revenue. By the way, this is a Republican talking point!
2. Repeated talk of bipartisanship, including special monthly meetings with Republicans. This has so far gotten Obama zero legislative accomplishments. It is a huge waste of time, energy and political capital. Again, another Republican talking point.
3. He scolded the Democrats, telling them not to give up on health care reform. That's it, no plan, no promise of help, nothin'.
4. Offshore drilling? Clean coal? Nuclear power? Are you fucking kidding me? Look, if you want Republicans to like you so much, why not just don the knee pads and start blowing them right there in the chamber, and spare the rest of us an evening of listening to this. Oh, the pain.
5. An across the board, three-year freeze on discretionary spending. Yup, you heard correctly, John McCain's campaign solution to the deficit - which was roundly criticized by Obama. Remember, that was using a "hatchet instead of a scalpel" on the budget. Jesus, this is a horrible idea that will hurt programs important to the most vulnerable Americans, while leaving the bloated military budget untouched. This proposal was leaked days early, by the way, just to make sure that progressives hated it. Still, ECONOMISTS HATED IT TOO! I really thought that Obama might bail on this idea after it was so roundly criticized by notable economists. Nope, never let a Republican talking point go by unvalidated by the President!
6. The sneakiest, most insideous turd in this punchbowl was probably Obama's endorsement of the "bipartisan commission" to study social security, led by Kent Conrad and Judd Greg. This sounds fine on the outside, respectable senators from each side of the aisle trying to solve the looming financial crisis that will affect social security. But don't be fooled.
This commission is the brainchild of billionaire Pete Peterson. Pete Peterson's agenda is to kill Social Security, period. He has said so many times, and has funded the Fiscal Times news service, which focuses on budget issues affecting the Federal Government. Many stories are slanted towards this billionaire's viewpoint. This commission will come to the inevitable conclusion that Social Security benefits need to be cut. This will lead to people becoming dissalusioned with SS, and then it can be privatized or just done away with. Great.
What does not get reported is that there is no problem with Social Security. Social Security's funding formula is just fine, and up until a couple of decades ago, all the money necessary for the Baby Boom retirement was there. But then Republicans and Democrats cut taxes on the rich, and did not cut spending to match. They "borrowed" from the SS fund.
Now that the bill is coming due, billionaire's like Pete Peterson know where we will come to get the money - to the rich, who took it earlier in the form of tax cuts. Took that money that people paid over a lifetime of work, so they would not have to eat pet food in their retirement, and Peterson wants to keep that money you paid into the system, and tell you to go fuck yourself. And that is the sole purpose of this bipartisan commission. This is the ultimate Republican talking point.
Destroying Social Security was the one thing that Cheney and Bush failed to push through (back when they had no more than 54 senators and got every fucking thing else they wanted). Now, Democrat Barack Obama is trying to finish the job apparantly. How can this be? The only conclusion is that Obama doesn't give a shit about us, at least not anymore. He now sees the world as populated by bankers, health care execs, lobbyists, conservative Republicans and weak Democrats. He has found the center of that world and is trying to govern 300 million working Americans from that center. When he was campaigning for president, his world was much broader, and its center much more recognizable to us, the average folk. Now, I get so frustrated trying to figure out who this guy is, and I am exhausted from the constant hope/disappointment cycle.
I must abandon hope at this point. It turns out that Obama did not learn the lesson of the Massachusetts special election. He talked tough for a couple of days, but his actions speak volumes: Geithner still has a job, Bernanke is confirmed, and Republican talking points still rule his day. Fall 2010 will be a giant Massachusetts, one that Obama will deserve, but we won't.
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