It certainly seems as if reality is triumphing over hype. For the last few weeks, rather than trying to modify the upcoming sequester so that it would focus on cutting the most useless federal spending, president Obama has been trying to build the upcoming cuts into a national disaster. In Obama-speak, the message is clear: "The sky is falling!" We have been treated to litanies of terrible cuts that will starve children, throw families on the streets and generally kick all of the poor while they are down. Sequestration, we have been told, will hollow out national defense, allow millions to sicken or even die from food poisoning, and put us all in jeopardy. And all this will happen because federal spending will go up in 2013 by only $15 billion rather than by $100 billion. Every cent spent last year and much more will still be spent, but the federal government, we are told, will just be unable to do any of its job. As Henny-Penny puts it in the old children's story, "the sky is falling."
The funny part of this manufactured "crisis" is that for once, the public does not care about it in the least. And now even the media is starting to notice. ABC News, always a supporter of Obama causes, published a note today lamenting that Obama is facing what they call "cliff fatigue" in the current fight. ABC thinks that the public has just had to face too many of these spending fights in Washington to pay attention this time. The network is also nearly distraught that Obama might fail to get his way at the point in his second term when he is most likely to get action by Congress. ABC actually expresses the fear that if the public does not wake up and support Obama on sequestration, the Republicans (horror!) might not rejoin Obama at the negotiating table in the future.
It is enjoyable to see just how clueless ABC is about the reason why the public does not care if sequestration goes into effect. The answer is that the public understands that these are just tiny cuts to a monster federal budget. The word that spending will still rise even after sequestration has actually made its way into the public consciousness. Obama has been revealed as a liar. Oh, I doubt that most people would actually call him that, but the lack of truth in his statements has shone through.
I just wonder how many in the media will suffer medical disabilities due to the incredible upset that this result must bring them.
The funny part of this manufactured "crisis" is that for once, the public does not care about it in the least. And now even the media is starting to notice. ABC News, always a supporter of Obama causes, published a note today lamenting that Obama is facing what they call "cliff fatigue" in the current fight. ABC thinks that the public has just had to face too many of these spending fights in Washington to pay attention this time. The network is also nearly distraught that Obama might fail to get his way at the point in his second term when he is most likely to get action by Congress. ABC actually expresses the fear that if the public does not wake up and support Obama on sequestration, the Republicans (horror!) might not rejoin Obama at the negotiating table in the future.
It is enjoyable to see just how clueless ABC is about the reason why the public does not care if sequestration goes into effect. The answer is that the public understands that these are just tiny cuts to a monster federal budget. The word that spending will still rise even after sequestration has actually made its way into the public consciousness. Obama has been revealed as a liar. Oh, I doubt that most people would actually call him that, but the lack of truth in his statements has shone through.
I just wonder how many in the media will suffer medical disabilities due to the incredible upset that this result must bring them.
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