You’ve heard the saying “Deja Vu, All over again.” Well, I’m very worried that we’re seeing a repeat of a disaster in American politics which really turned our nation in a downward direction in 1980. For those of you that remember Jimmy Carter, you may understand my point this evening. Jimmy Carter was a wonderful man, honest as the day is long, compassionate, and very intelligent. He came to the White House from the governorship of Georgia, and like Bill Clinton after him, he proved that not all southerners are racists. In fact, it was during the time of Carter when I took a second look at race relations in this country and realized that a lot of the so-called “liberal north” (like Boston for one example) had covert race issues which were more of an issue than those in the south where people were right up front with racism. Carter was a man who clearly understood that “all men (women) are created equal.” He made some courageous stands that either had, or would have had, long term positive effects on this nation from an economic perspective, and he took major steps as an American President who favored peace worldwide.

If you remember, Carter was undone by the “left wing” of the Democratic party in 1980 when he lost his bid for re-election to Ronald Reagan. Reagan brought the fringe right into prominence through some cagy, underhanded tactics that have been the mantra of the Republican party ever since. Most people don’t remember John Anderson, but he was the disenchanted Republican from the left side of the party who ran as a third party candidate. I have been convinced ever since that election that Anderson’s campaign was totally funded by the pro-Reagan Republicans because Anderson garnered the votes of the disenchanted Republicans (which would have otherwise likely voted for Carter) and the disenchanted Democrats. The likely scenario would have been that these disenchanted voters (and there were millions of them) would have voted for Carter or maybe not at all – but Anderson’s position on the ticket likely resulted in the “Reagan Revolution.” People also either forget, or didn’t know, that Reagan’s campaign made a deal with the Iranian government to hold the hostages (who had been captured during the Ayatollah Khomeini’s coup d’etat) until he took the oath of office. Both of these “tactics” gave Reagan the “bully pulpit” he needed, as an accomplished actor, to push the right wing “trickle down” agenda down our throats. We’ve been suffering from this for the past 30 years.

Essentially, Carter was undone when Teddy Kennedy decided to run against him in the primaries, turning people like my Mom – a lifelong Democrat – against Carter. She, along with many other Democrats, ended up voting for Anderson, unaware of the long term damage to her beloved country. My Mom died last year before she could accomplish her last wish, which was to see GW Bush voted out of office. It took her a long time to understand how good Carter really was, despite all the attacks in the “liberal” media. He was, and in many circles still is, considered weak – despite the fact he initiated energy policies which, had Reagan not reversed them, would have this nation close to energy independence as I’m writing this. He had solar panels installed on the White House in an attempt to show leadership in our need for alternative energy – and, of course, Reagan had them removed almost immediately when taking his turn at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The CAFE standards set by Carter, which were also reversed by Reagan (in favor the the gas-guzzlers), would have the average American vehicle getting between 30 and 40 mpg today. And Carter’s involvement in negotiations with the Israeli’s and the Arab nations set the table for possible mid-east breakthroughs that were only followed up by President Clinton in the nearly 30 years since Carter left office. His lasting legacy remains the hostages held in Iran for 444 days which included the last year of Carter’s Presidency. Carter proved to me that the lives of the hostages were more valuable to him than his re-election. He OK’d one rescue attempt, but refused to commit to a retaliatory strike against Iran and many in America saw that as weakness. It confirmed to me how much I respected Carter – A POLITICIAN WHO PUT PRINCIPLE BEFORE HIS OWN RE-ELECTION! When’s the last time you saw that?

So, now we have another good, honest, intelligent person in the White House who seems to me to be a man who believes in principle (to a fault, in my opinion, regarding “bi-partisanship”). He, like Carter is a good husband and father, and to this point I have no reason to believe he’s a dishonest politician (although I’ve got some worries about things he’s doing which nobody’s asking him about). The sad part of the Obama legacy could be very similar to Carter’s as well. He stands to be undone by the left wing of the Democratic party. Essentially, in this case, they are the one’s who Obama energized in the campaign and who are responsible for his election. However, just as in the late 70’s they expect the President to follow through on issues of importance to them. Today, I saw clips of Obama speaking to a right wing talk show host and answering questions to the host’s right wing audience (the host claims to be moderate – which may be true, I’ve never listened to the guy’s program, he’s from Philadelphia). More evidence that Obama’s quest for bi-partisanship is intense. I’ve been saying this almost since his first days in office, it appears to me that President Obama is spending (far) more time talking to Republicans than to those who “got him there.” It’s starting to look like he’s taking his supporters for granted. He even seems somewhat astonished by the backlash coming from the “liberal” Democrats – which is somewhat alarming to me.

I REALLY DON’T WANT OBAMA TO BE A ONE TERM PRESIDENT LIKE CARTER WAS! But, I’m beginning to wonder what he’s thinking. Is it his advisors? Or is he not as intelligent as I gave him credit? Or, worse yet, is he a moderate to conservative Democrat who campaigned as a “Progressive.” I’ve mentioned in previous posts the “red flags” which I’ve tried to look the other way from during his first 6 months in office, but Obama himself has put the onus on this health care debate – which, in my opinion, HE CLEARLY WASN’T READY FOR. Now, he’s in a position of “guaranteeing” to his supporters that “we will have a bill.” At the same time he says that he also says that he still hopes to have Republican support for the bill. I’m sitting here thinking that if there’s one Republican vote for the bill, IT WON’T BE SOMETHING THAT WILL REFORM HEALTH CARE. President Obama has stepped right into the Republican’s trap, and I’m not sure how he’s going to get out of it. And, for those of us who are his original supporters the horizon could look very bleak. I SUFFERED FOR EIGHT YEARS UNDER BUSH! I’m starting to suffer under Obama, which I thought would be unthinkable. And, can you imagine in 2012 another Bush – or worse still – SARAH PALIN? I honestly don’t know how I’ll deal with that. I’m almost thinking I hope Mitt Romney wins the 2012 Republican Primary – wait a minute – I didn’t really say that did I?

It’s starting to play out like the Republicans couldn’t have orchestrated it better. President Obama is undermining his support within his own base. President GW Bush, VP Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove, David Addington, John Yoo, John Ashcroft, and many others will not only all walk away from their crimes scott free, but they leave a legacy of executive abuse that will be etched as precedence for the incoming President in 2012 if Obama fails to be re-elected (this is the part about Obama that REALLY BUGS ME – he says America no longer tortures, but by letting the torturers “off” he’s really saying we don’t torture while he’s in office, we’ll let the next President decide for himself if we should torture or not – because Obama has confirmed Nixon’s claim – “IF THE PRESIDENT DOES IT, IT MUST BE LEGAL”) – and it’s looking more and more as if that (Obama as a one term President) could happen. It almost looks to me as if President Obama thinks he can go around the country refuting Republican lies, as if he’s still on the campaign trail, and somehow convince the American people to continue to support him. And, the worst part of that is he’s focused on the people who aren’t going to support him, at least their congressional delegates aren’t going to support him, no matter what he says at his town halls and on these right wing radio shows. Obama has a 60 VOTE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS IN THE SENATE. He should be doing whatever he has to do to get those Democratic Senators in line to support his “signature” legislation – PERIOD!

As I said yesterday, President Obama needs to REGROUP and fast. Take a look at who the advisors are, and get rid of the ones who are telling him to keep sucking up to Republicans! If the health care legislation is passed and it doesn’t give me the option of joining a government run “medicare” like plan which would compete with Blue Cross in benefits, but without all the profit motive and heavy administrative costs, I will be really bummed. The only reason there’s such a debate going on is obvious – the health insurance industry doesn’t want to give up what I’ve heard is 800 BILLION DOLLARS in annual profits. For heaven’s sake, that amount is almost enough to pay for the plan itself – the one being proposed. The point I’m trying to make is that I’m really worried that President Obama is going to receive the same fate as President Carter. We voted out the Republicans because they were terribly corrupt. We not only didn’t picture President Obama on this constant mission to turn Republicans to “our side” (really, I’m an independent, but I can’t imagine voting for a Republican under the present circumstances) but expected accountability for their previous misdeeds. There aren’t enough Republicans left in this nation to vote President Obama out of office – UNLESS – people like me vote for a third party candidate, or don’t vote at all because they’re so discouraged at feeling betrayed by everyone who ever takes public office. The way to remind people that Republicans created the mess we’re in is NOT by sucking up to them! There’s not a Republican left in the Senate that deserves anything more than our disdain, and if President Obama wants a chance for success he’d better soon figure out that his “base” deserves his FULL ATTENTION! To hell with the Republicans! PERIOD, END OF STORY!

There’s an old saying, “those who choose to ignore history are bound to repeat it.” Just as I never in my wildest dreams figured we’d ever repeat the mistake of Viet Nam, now we’re stuck in two Viet Nam like situations – orchestrated by politicians who managed to avoid Viet Nam in their day.  Additionally, we’re faced with the real possibility of the Democratic party turning on their own President with the likely result a President who at one time was considered an impossibility for the office getting elected (Reagan was once considered too “out there” to be President – so all you people who think Sarah Palin is history and too “out there,” be careful – and don’t forget Jeb Bush who’s “laying in the weeds” waiting for the right moment). And the reality is that it’s President Obama’s responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen. I TRULY HOPE HE UNDERSTANDS THIS!