Bob Herbert sees reality

In today's NY Times, Bob Herbert writes a column lamenting the destruction that the recession has wrought on the American people and the lack of meaningful action from Washington. As Herbert puts it, "The movers and shakers of our society seem ... oblivious to the terrible destruction wrought by the economic storm that has roared through America. They’ve heard some thunder, perhaps, and seen some lightning, and maybe felt a bit of the wind. But there is nothing that society’s leaders are doing — no sense of urgency in their policies or attitudes — that suggests they understand the extent of the economic devastation that has come crashing down like a plague on the poor and much of the middle class."

Let's translate that into English. Herbert, one of the most reliably leftist columnists at the Times and one of Obama's biggest cheerleaders, is out there telling us that the leaders in Washington do not even recognize the problems in the country, so they are obviously not doing much to deal with those problems. And who are those leaders? Obama and the Obamacrats. So this is Herbert bashing Obama and his party for failing the American people.

Of course, Herbert goes on to say that the Republicans are not the way to get beyond the problem. Indeed, I think that Herbert has those anti-Republican paragraphs saved on his computer and just sticks them automatically in each piece that he writes. Nevertheless, it is very significant that 40 days before an election, even Bob Herbert is castigating Obama and the Obamacrats for their gross failure as leaders.