Wasn't That A Lovely Speech

Yesterday (February 27) I attended a meeting with a group of men who either own or work for small businesses. As soon as we sat down the conversation turned to President Obama's address to Congress and his proposed budget. Everyone expressed their amazement as to the audacity of the President's tax and spending plans. Everyone expressed concern not only for themselves but for the country because of what they viewed as bad policies and the future debt those policies would create. After everyone had their say one man said that after the President's address to Congress his mother-in-law called his wife and said "Wasn't that a lovely speech." Apparently she like a lot of people is still more focused on Obama's rhetoric than the implications of his policies.

Later that day I talked to a lady who can best be described as being among the working poor. She is a strong Obama supporter and apparently does not have access to a lot of news outlets. She asked me "When will I get my stimulus check and how much will it be?" I told her it is supposed to come on April 1 (an appropriate day for the Obama program) and that it would amount to about $6.50 a week extra for her. She was not impressed. She was even less impressed when I told her that the plan included about $8 billion for a railroad from Disney Land to Las Vegas. She seemed upset that her hero was letting her down and that the hoped for Stimulus Plan had the wrong priorities.

After just five weeks of the Obama Administration the country is sharply divided in two parts. One one side there are those who are caught in the President's "lovely speeches" and those counting on him to provide many benefits for them. On the other side there are those who fear for themselves and the country as Obama's goals become more clear. This is going to be a struggle of epic proportions that is going to take many twists and turns. This is no time to be on the sidelines.