Politics isn’t something I ordinarily get into on this blog, but couldn’t resist the gems that came from Obama’s mouth today.
“We also hoped for a chance to get beyond some of the old political divides – between Democrats and Republicans, Red states and Blue states – that had prevented us from making progress. Because although we are proud to be Democrats, we are prouder to be Americans – and we believed that no single party has a monopoly on wisdom.”
This gem of hypocrisy was stated early on today, right before he spent nearly an hour berating Republicans (John Boehner in particular) for the current mess we’re in. So much for helping to close the divide.
I nearly fell out of my chair today when I heard this statement:
“I have a different vision for the future. I’ve never believed that government has all the answers to our problems. I’ve never believed that government’s role is to create jobs or prosperity. I believe it’s the drive and ingenuity of our entrepreneurs, the skill and dedication of our workers, that has made us the wealthiest nation on Earth. I believe it’s the private sector that must be the main engine of our recovery.”
It doesn’t take long for him to contradict himself saying, “We want to put more Americans back to work rebuilding America – our roads, railways, and runways.”
It gets better.. much better..
“I believe government should be lean, it should be efficient, and it should leave people free to make the choices they think are best for themselves and their families, so long as those choices don’t hurt others.”
I did fall out of my chair after that one. You have to go back 60 years to find a government as LARGE as this one… and yet another $50 billion in stimulus for infrastructure was proposed on Labor Day. Why is that? .. well of course.. because the first gazillion has worked so beautifully.
It’s not all bad. The support for small business should be applauded, but it appears to be a desperation move before an election as does the rhetoric above about a leaner government who supports entrepreneurial spirit. Why wasn’t this done earlier?
On fiscal discipline..
Of course, they are right to be concerned about the long-term deficit – if we don’t get a handle on it soon, it can endanger our future. And at a time when folks are tightening their belts at home, I understand why a lot of Americans feel it’s time for government to show some discipline too.
Damn right! Time for some discipline! The only argument seems to be “well, they (Republicans) started it”. The deficit continues to skyrocket each and every day and now a plan to throw billions more at it. Obama defends the out of control spending, calling them investments:
“I’ll be honest – I refuse to cut back on those investments that will grow our economy in the future – investments in areas like education and clean energy and technology. That’s because economic growth is the single best way to bring down the deficit – and we need these investments to grow. But I am absolutely committed to fiscal responsibility, which is why I’ve already proposed freezing all discretionary spending unrelated to national security for the next three years. And once the bipartisan fiscal commission finishes its work, I will spend the next year making the tough choices necessary to further reduce our deficit and lower our debt.
How about making those tough decisions right now.