Polls show not all Americans are onboard for the President's stimulus bill, and reports are that folks like us who have flooded the hallowed halls of Congress with emails, faxes and phone calls in dissent surely have been a cause for concern. Mr. Obama is a president that seeks to be popular. After all, he entered the Oval Office as an icon. There remains not a rock star, professional athlete or Hollywood heart throb that can hold a candle to Mr. Obama's appeal. The rubber has hit the road and the real work of being president took an early toll. Just days into the grind, he took some time of, claiming to be tired of being in the White House, and headed to a school to read to children. Good thing a Republican isn't president! Walking away from duties and needing time off so soon would have ignited outrage and days and days of humilitation and taunting from late night TV personalities and news anchors. It sure pays to be a super hero; you don't have to be subjected to that kind of thing.
Yesterday Mr. Obama visited Elhart, IN., a community that has prospered due to the recreational vehicle and boat industries. The Left has long looked down their noses at the big gas guzzling motorcoaches that lumber down our highways and byways. They frown at man littering and destroying the environment by setting up campsites, running around on ATV's, supporting big business with the purchase of outdoor gear of any kind. Certain lakes and reserviors have banned motorized boats for a variety of reasons, but in some cases its because of they use fuel and pollute the waters, not to mention, put money in the pockets of Big Oil. The point is, recreational vehicles of many kinds have fallen out of favor and when gas prices hovered at $4.00 this past summer and marine fuel was significantly more than that, sales fell sharply. People in Elkhart lost a tremendous number of jobs. Yesterday, their president came to town to tell them that when his stimulus bill is passed, he's going to right the ship in Elkhart. Jobs will come and if people are concerned about how money is being spent, they can go to his website and report what they don't like.
Mr. Obama is out doing town hall meetings already. Apparently, there isn't enough important business on his desk right now, so getting out among the people, plying the best trick of his trade which is his eloquence and articulation, he launched his 2012 re-election campaign yesterday. He will thrill the throngs with his speeches. He'll dodge difficult questions and give everything except a direct answer. This first stimulus package contains much to bring a smile to some of his special interest groups. Meanwhile, back in Washington, his staff stealthily puts together plans to take over the census and redistricting process which will also be very helpful in moving toward a one-party political system for a very long time, if not permanently. As the CEO of GE signs on to the economic advisory team, TV (NBC) networks get an even brighter green light to increase the intensity of pro-Obama programming of every kind.
Just when we thought we had a break in campaign promises and fainting crowds and women revealing their fantasies, it appears we are already back in an election season. I was expecting weekly televised fireside chats to start soon, but hadn't expected full fledged campaign stops, replete with hecklers drowning out voices that attempt to ask legitimate questions; at least not yet.
It probably makes good political sense to keep the folks distracted with the hope that the president might be stopping soon in our towns and cities. Normally in this environment, people still working wouldn't dare take a day off to go see a celebrity for fear of losing their job, and those not working and living in fear of what tomorrow will bring usually would spend their days looking for work. But, hope and change has come to America. The people voted for it. Now, when given the chance to see our leader, we go forth in joy, giving no thought to whether our job is in jeopardy, or whether a job was waiting for us that day but we failed to show up and apply.
The campaign slogan of Hope and Change has ironically been replaced recently with Fear and Things Are Going to Get Worse. Any day now we'll probably start seeing the '12 bumper stickers, and I wonder what the catch phrase will be this time around.