As I’ve said many times, I want President Obama TO SUCCEED. I feel a bit uneasy in criticizing him because he’s getting it from all sides at this point, and I’m very concerned that his “honeymoon” is about to be over. The last thing we need at this point in time is a President that is perceived to be weak. And, it’s not the perception of those around the world, who I believe are even more encouraged than many Americans about the possibilities with an Obama administration, it’s the news media, the right wing, and – eventually – the Democratic party that need to be kept “in line.” Whether we like it or not, the system we have is the system we have. So, to “change” it requires one to be realistic about what you’re dealing with.

I don’t presume to be one who should be giving President Obama advice, but it appears to me that he has surrounded himself with people from the “old guard” – you know, the thing we wanted to change. On top of that, it seems to me that President Obama is going out of his way to “reach across the isle” in an attempt to “bring people together.” In my mind, while the objective is admirable, the strategy (or at least what appears to be the strategy) is impracticle. There are several things (some I’ve mentioned many times already in previous posts) that need to be done differently for Obama to circumvent the Republicans who are setting him up to be another Jimmy Carter in perception. And, keep in mind, I really felt that Jimmy Carter was one of the better Presidents in my lifetime. The public perception, to this day, is that Carter was weak (mostly because of the Iran hostage situation), but had we “stayed the course” with some of his economic policies – namely the CAFE standards he implemented which Reagan repealed – we’d all be in better shape today.

This is where the news media and the right wing come into the picture. The Republicans have been on a propaganda binge for 30+ years which they are showing no signs of giving up, and the media is showing no signs of exposing what they’re doing – the lying seems to be uncontested. About the only place you can “vet” what they’re saying is on the internet, and most Americans just don’t have the time, and it still hasn’t sunk in to them how dishonest these politicians are (and, believe me, I’m not giving Democrats a pass here – they are just a lot less sofisticated about their lying). We REALLY WANT TO BELIEVE IN OUR LEADERS. This is why President Obama has such an opportunity, but also why he’s in such a precarious position. Most Americans really do want “change we can believe in.” But, it will take someone who is very assertive and determined, and someone who is standing firm on the principles that a majority of Americans believe is the “fabric” of this nation.

I will state this again for the I have no idea how manyith time, President Obama is not going to get any support from Republicans until he proves that he can stand up to their leaders. HE HAS TO SHUT UP THE BUSH/CHENEY crowd once and for all. Their constant criticism of him will ultimately undermine his entire administration – remember, these Republicans are looking at a generation or two of being in the background – if not obscurity – if Obama “succeeds.” They are NOT going to “work with him” on anything. HE IS GOING TO HAVE TO PASS HIS AGENDA OVER THEIR OBJECTIONS AND COUNT ON HIS POLICIES WORKING in order to succeed. The first step (well, it can’t be the first step because it’s already too late for that) is to not only allow, but to encourage, the investigations of the wrongdoing of the Bush administration. I’m going to say it right here, if President Obama lets their transgressions go he will be a one term President. Many might say, well, his popularity is over 60% – but, I would remind you that at one point GW Bush was close to 80+% after 9/11.

And, trust me on this one, should there be another attack on the US, you won’t see the Republicans lining up behind Obama as he deals with the crisis like everyone did with Bush following 9/11. In fact, they are trying to set President Obama up for something like this, so they can ring down their “I told you so’s” – almost as if they’re rooting for something like that to happen. Additionally, the so-called “left wing media” (here’s a great example of the Republican propoganda machine – they’ve been calling the media {which they’ve quietly been taking almost total control of} “left wing” for so long that even the right wingers in the media believe this – it’s shameful) refuses to confront these Republican liars – in fact, they have become part of the caucus, so to speak. These guys spew out the “talking points” that come out of the caucus as if they are Republican staffers. This is SO DANGEROUS to our Democracy – AND CALLS FOR STRONG ACTION BY THE OPPOSITION.

Unfortunately, the opposition is made up of a bunch of Politicians who have taken money from the same corporations who own the Republicans, and they seem to just obediently be willing to go along with the “way things are.” I mean, Nancy Pelosi – inexplicably – took impeachment off of the table for possibly the most corrupt administration in history – and believe me, there are many Americans who will never “get” how bad the Bush administration was unless our leaders in Washington hold them accountable. And, you have Harry Reid, who backs down at the threat of filibuster. It’s been many years since I’ve seen a Senate leader actually force the opposition to stand up and speak until they couldn’t speak anymore. They’ve just caved to the idea that good legislation gets held hostage to a minority of 41 – AND NOTHING CHANGES IN AMERICA.

I’m trying not to digress too much, but the health care issue gives everyone a good idea of the major problem in Washington. Something like 59% of Americans are in favor of a single payor health insurance run by the government. The percentage is higher for those who at least want there to be a national health care policy with a public option – that is, I can choose to keep my Blue Cross, or I can choose to go with the medicare like public option. Certainly, no one except the insurance companies and maybe the for profit hospitals object to getting better health care in this country for substantially less money. This one would seem like a no-brainer. However, that’s without considering how much money the long time members of the Congress have received from insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and other health care interests (remember, the person who negotiated the medicare bill under Bush – the one where medicare couldn’t negotiate the price of drugs – received over ONE BILLION DOLLARS for his efforts). Even Ron Widen, the Senator from Oregon (Democrat) who I thought was above this, has introduced a bill for health care that shows his “connection” to the health care industry, and then he promotes it by saying he’s not going to let the health care industry stop “reform” this time. And Max Baucus, Democrat from Montana, has taken millions from the health care industry and he’s trying to stop the public option ostensibly at their behest.

So, President Obama faces a formidable task – no one questions that. I can’t imagine a President coming into office under worst circumstances. However, that doesn’t change the realities of American politics. I admire that he wants to change the climate in Washington. I just don’t think he can do it the way he’s going about things. Job number one is to “call” the Republican party on their misdeeds. If President Obama continues to look the other way regarding torture, and all the other abuses that happened under Bush, he will slowly loose his own party on key issues. THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY OUT THERE WHICH CORPORATIONS WOULD BE HAPPY TO SPEND IF THEY THINK THEY CAN SUCCEED IN UNDERMINING HIM. Make no mistake about that. And, unfortunately, Obama is not blessed with a strong group in Congress behind him. They have shown themselves to be almost cowardly on many issues. Obama shouldn’t even have had to deal with the issue of Iraq – Congress should have pulled the funds under Bush after the Dems took over – but they didn’t have the guts to do it (and it looks like the only way we’ll get out of Iraq is at the demand of the Iraqi’s). In addition to that, the reason there’s so much debate on the health care proposals, is because President Obama doesn’t have the support of many in his own party. I’ll say it one more time (probably not the last) Until President Obama confronts the Republicans with investigations of Bush he will not have full support of Democrats. He’s running out of time!