Politics Triumphs

The presidential elections are still 14 months away. At this point in prior election cycles, it was still possible for actions to be taken that would help the country as needed. Indeed, in the fall of 2008, Congress passed the TARP bill which probably prevented the collapse of the American financial system and the onset of a true Depression. That bill was passed with bi-partisan support even though that act was probably the most important factor in the election of Barack Obama as president. John McCain was ahead in the polls until he suspended his campaign to go to Washington to help deal with the financial crisis. For his part, Obama stayed away, played it safe and won the election. Instead of announcing his support for TARP, Obama announced the "priciples" that had to be met by any resolution. In that way, he got none of the credit or the blame for TARP and the mess with which it was dealing. My point is not that Obama did the wrong thing or McCain the right thing. My point is only that even during the campaign, it was possible for Congress to take action needed to help the American economy.

Today, however, we are at the point where nothing is being done about the economy. Obama is not even trying to accomplish anything. You may well say that he is going around the country campaigning for his American Jobs Act. Of course, he is campaigning, but he knows full well that neither the Republicans nor most Democrats in Congress support his proposal. Indeed, Harry Reid has taken pains to prevent any vote in the Senate on Obama's bill since Reid knows it would fail (and might not even get a majority of the Democrats to support it.) Campaigning for a dead bill will not help the economy. Everyone including the president knows this. But Obama is still campaigning and that is the important event here. Obama is letting politics triumph over the needs of the country. Obama is not trying to help the country; he is trying to help his own re-election.

Obama promised to end politics as usual and move us towards a national consensus. Instead, he has been the most political and divisive leader in my lifetime. It is a disgrace!