MaggieMae
Reality bits
- Apr 3, 2009
- 24,043
- 1,635
- 48
Last night's address wasn't aimed at political junkies and political junkie pundits.
Obviously not. He's already had everything thrown at him already by the rabid right. Yesterday, on the Senate floor, McConnell began wagging his finger before he even knew what the speech would say that Obama shouldn't think he can get away with sticking any comment in the speech about an energy bill. I can't wait for the day when Obama gives a flying finger to those used car salesmen like McConnell and Boehner who set in motion all the political talking points in order to rev up a sadly uninformed base.
Why does Obama turn everything into a chance to promote a political agenda. A lot of people rightly criticize Bush for his politics, but he did not stand on the rubble of the Twin Towers and call for passing the Patriot Act. He did not stump the nation and hold town halls to gather support for the invasion if Iraq.
The Patriot Act was moved through Congress in less than 6 weeks following the attacks, precisely because it allowed the president and his cabinet newly enacted power that cut through normal bureaucratic bullshit, such as Obama and his have had to try to cut through regarding the oil spill. Without the Patriot Act, there would have been months of haggling over who had authority to do what with regard to the invasion of Afghanistan, new surveillance laws, etc. No president can just abandon previously enacted laws separating powers, cancel or fast-track licensing or existing appropriated federal funding, nor step all over protocol, without running into bureaucratic opposition.