Obama Vs. Rush

We are eight days into the Obama Administration and everyday seems to be an adventure into unchartered waters. It is clear that the new President wants to project a post partisan image in the press while satisfying the desires of the far left of his party. This is a dangerous game and cannot be go on forever since in life and politics you can't make everyone happy all the time. The most obvious example of this is Obama's effort to woo Republican members of Congress while attacking conservative icon Rush Limbaugh. Everyone after the inauguration was saying that they wanted the new President to succeed, but Rush said he did not want Obama to succeed if that meant that socialism would prevail in this country. These comments obviously got to Obama as he then told GOP leaders they should not spend all their time listening to Rush.

Obama's comments about Rush triggered a firestorm within the GOP and caused a few Republicsn leaders to distance themselves from the talkshow host. However, because of the strong reaction from grassroot conservatives these officials immediately "clarified" their remarks and at least one has appeared on Rush's show and apologized to him. It does appear that because of the stand of Rush and other conservative talkshow hosts the Republican members of Congress are showing some spine in opposing the outrageous elements of the stimulus package.

Meanwhile Rush, who is laughing all the way to bank, has actually offered a creative alternative to the current stimulus package. He points out that about 54% of the people voted for Obama and third party candidates last year and 46% voted for McCain. He recommends that Obama can spend 54% of the stimulus money on his programs and that 46% go for conservative programs such as a broad range of tax cuts for businesses and individuals. Rush believes that this will give people a chance to see which approach really works. Some may laugh at this idea, but the Wall Street Journal will feature an article by Rush in its January 29, 2009, edition describing his proposal. While Obama is currently riding high in the polls he may find that attacking El Rushbo could be his Waterloo.

Obama's Early Executive Orders--Inconsistent and Dangerous

President Obama's initial executive orders reflect a sharp move to the left and are a cause for major concern to those who are serious about national security and the sanctity of life. His order promising to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was designed to please the far left of his party, but it leaves a lot of questions. What will we do with the current inmates? Send them back to their native countries? Move them to a U.S. facility? Why should the U.S. military capture terrorists for interrogation purposes if no one knows where they will go and how they will be interrogated. A member of the military will be tempted to kill a terrorist rather than capture one for intelligence purposes if faced with the uncertainty that Obama's order creates. Of additional concern is that Obama has appointed a prominent member of the ACLU to be an attorney for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. This individual has spent the last few years attacking the interrogation methods used by the Bush Administration that have helped keep the country safe for the past seven years. Now he is partly responsible for changing those methods.

During his first week President Obama also signed an Executive Order lifting the ban on U.S. funding of overseas abortion counseling and actual abortions by non-governmental groups. This ban was put in place by Ronald Reagan, retained by President Bush (1), lifted by Bill Clinton and reinstated by George W. Bush. This action is another appeal to Obama's far left base. He has also placed a prominent member of the pro-Abortion NARAL organization in a senior position at the Justice Department.

In sum, despite calls for a bi-partisan spirit, the President is showing mercy and comfort to brutal terrorists while endorsing brutality for the most defenseless among us. This is not change we can believe in.

What are Bill and Hillary Thinking?

As I watched the inauguration of the 44th President I could not helped but think that the most unhappy people watching the event were not conservative Republicans, but instead that title goes to the Clintons. This was supposed to be their day when two million people were going to be on the Mall ushering in the beginning of Hillary's Presidency. This was going to be Bill's third term where he would find final vindication. Instead a junior Senator with a thin resume was receiving all the adulation from the crowd and the press.

Hillary will be Secretary of State, but even her confirmation hearings surfaced all of Bill's questionable dealings the last eight years that have made him a rich man because of his associations with a lot of questionable individuals throughout the world. To top it off there were reports that former President Jimmy Carter would not even shake hands with either of the Clintons during the festivities. While the Obama Administration will do a number of that many of us will not approve of, having Hillary as Secretary of State and Bill being close by will no doubt provide some entertaining moments in the next few years.

Early Impressions of The Inauguration

Watching the inauguration of our 44th President I have these initial thoughts.

Good: Rick Warren's invocation. Did not compromise his Christian faith despite attacks on him and push for political correctness from the media regarding Presidential prayers.

Kind of Funny: Both President Obama and Chief Justice Roberts flubbing their lines during the Oath of Office. I have watched every inauguration since Eisenhower and this is the first time I believe it has happened. Proves that very smart people can get stressed under high pressured situations.

Good: Parts of Obama's speech that recognized the importance of entrepreneurs and strong stand against terrorism.

Not So Good: Parts of speech talking about freeing up science (means lots of spending on embryonic stem cell research) and implication that our rights had been lost in the war on terrorism.

Very Good: Decency shown by President George W. Bush throughout the ceremony and the transition. Was a sharp contrast to how the outgoing Clinton Administration treated him in 2001.

Very Bad: Four percent drop in Dow Jones Industrial average. Not a strong endorsement for the expected economic policies of the new administration.

More to Come.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again

One of the best gifts I got for Christmas was the book "The Forgotten Man" by Amity Shlaes. This is the most informative, fairest and best written book I have ever read on the Great Depression and New Deal. If one wants to understand what is happening now and what will probably happen in the next few years it is important to have an appreciation of the 1920's and 1930's. The 1920's were a time of economic growth and expansion. They were also a time of Republican dominance in national politics. During this period liberal intellectuals and politicians, who were in the minority, were waiting for the economy to collapse so that they could take advantage of the situation in order to promote and install their policies.

That moment came with the stock market crash of October 1929 as the market tumbled and unemployment soared to as high as 30 percent. Ironically, the President, Herbert Hoover, was a "Compassionate Conservative, who was famous for his relief work in previous jobs. Hoover's response was to promote stimulus policies including a lot of public works projects. Hoover, however, unlike the current President, raised taxes and increased tariffs which helped make the depression a global disaster.

In 1932 Franklin Roosevelt and the Democrats won in a landslide. FDR, who came from a wealthy family, had been heavily influenced by liberal thinkers at Harvard and elsewhere. He had extraordinary communication skills and was able to connect with the average person. FDR made the federal government the dominant factor in the economy and enjoyed raising taxes on "the rich." Amity Shlaes book points out, however, that after all the government spending and great speeches the economy was still in a depressed state with high unemployment until the late 1930's and that it revived primarily because of the onset of World War II. She believes that had the market been allowed to deal with crash in a more normal manner, the economic downturn would have reversed itself in a relatively short time.

Primarily as a result of the September market meltdown Barack Obama and the Democrats will have total control of the federal government. They are promising a huge stimulus package that will probably mean that 25 percent of all spending will come from the federal government. This does not count state and local government spending. I hope I am wrong but I believe that we are in for time of great speeches and bad policies that will prolong our economic woes. Of course, the President-elect's followers in the media will tell us that Happy Days are Here Again.