The last post I published on this site affirmed my commitment to avoid the tendency to just agree with anything President Obama does, even though I have to admit that I was a STRONG supporter of his candidacy during the campaign.  I’m a middle school teacher and to and from work I listen to “progressive” radio – I feel an obligation to listen in an attempt to help them combat the near monopoly that so-called “conservative” talk radio enjoys, giving us the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage (maybe the worst I’ve heard), and others who remind me of the boss I worked for in my first job out of college (long before I started teaching).  I’ll never forget something he said.  This was a small electronic manufacturing business which relied on an agressive sales force to market our product (which was a good product) nationally.  Anyway, this guy made it clear there was nothing he wouldn’t do for money.  I won’t share some of the things he mentioned, but suffice it to say he listed some pretty deviant (in my mind, I’m a bit old fashioned) possibilities.  Now, I’m not suggesting the above mentioned radio personalities are deviant in any way (although I must admit it wouldn’t surprise me) – I’m just suggesting they would SAY ANYTHING – even at the expense of our nation, if it would increase their “bottom line.”

Ever since the first day Obama took office I have hoped that the so-called “progressive” members of the media wouldn’t just jump on the bandwaqon and give us a re-run of Bushitis, only from the Democratic perspective – Obamaitis, that is – rubber stamping any and all decisions Obama would make.  And, to a certain degree, that’s not happening.  I like to watch Keith Olberman on MSNBC – and, while he’s obviously biased toward the Dems and Obama, he’s perfectly willing to call them out on their Bushlike shortcomings – which there seem to be many.  Where I’ve  been a  bit dismayed is from one of my favorites on the radio, Randi Rhodes.  I’ve listened to her (when she’s managed to be on the air) for several years now and, yes, she’s probably the most “left” of the top progressive radio personalities.  She’s upfront about her bias, and actually challenges her listeners to “fact check” anything she says before deciding whether or not to believe she’s telling the truth.  Actually, that in itself, is a bit refreshing in a “genre” where OPENLY LYING seems so “in.”  Think I’m exaggerating?  Listen to Limbaugh or Beck sometime for just a few minutes.  Take notes on a few things they represent as fact, and then “fact check” them.  Their willingness to tell  BOLD FACED LIES is outrageous, to say the least.  And Limbaugh (well, Beck too, I just don’t listen to him as much) is such a dispicable racist.  The other day I heard him referring to the black community as “them” while explaining why President Obama was so bad for blacks – while, at the same time, demonstrating an incredible state of denial as to his own knowledge of what has created the problem blacks in this country are enduring in the first place.

Getting back to Randi Rhodes:  lately I’m getting VERY CONCERNED that she’s becoming a mouthpiece for President Obama.  Finding a way to justify virtually every decision he makes.  This would be VERY BAD to me if it continued.  The other day Rhodes was interviewing an expert on climate change who was following the “summit” that is going on in Copenhagen as I type this entry.  The man was pointing out how President Obama and the United States aren’t doing nearly enough to take the lead in the fight against “global warming.”  Rhodes pretty much took offense to someone with “liberal” credentials even criticizing our President (the guy – I can’t remember his name – is a reporter for “the Nation” magazine – definitely a liberal publication).  Just as she’s doing with the economy, the “surge” to Afganistan, the lack of investigation of the previous administration, Iraq, and health care – she’s starting to sound like a mouth piece for the Democratic party.

Let me suggest where her efforts would be better spent, because Rhodes is definitely someone who I believe “gets it” as far as the damage that’s been done to this country by the Republicans and GW Bush, Dick Cheney, and – for that matter – the whole trickling down bunch since Ronald Reagan.  Let’s start with the meeting in Copenhagen.  The reporter from “The Nation” isn’t the only progressive unhappy with Obama’s “stance” regarding climate change.  There’s a car mechanic who advertises on the Portland Oregon progressive station I listen to who is very unhappy with Obama’s apparent endorsement of (I think) 450 parts per million as the accepted limits on CO2 in the atmosphere – when scientists say that we should be limiting these emissions to no more than 350 ppm.  I really admire this small businessman who’s willing to spend his advertising money encouraging people to be active participants in our democracy – as progressives.  In this as in other areas where it appears that Obama is willing to accept “anything” that looks like we are “progressing,” there are many people who are concerned that what he’s exhibiting (myself included) is a lack of courageous leadership.

While I certainly hope that President Obama turns out to be a “guru” on turning this economy around, I believe the “jury’s still out” for sure on this.  Yes, the evidence is overwhelming that the so-called “stimulus” package that was passed – watered down with unneeded tax cuts for those of us who still have jobs in order to get three Republican votes (which turned into two Republican votes when Arlen Specter was forced to join the Democratic party for political survival due to the Republican’s backlash toward his vote with the Dems) – this “package” definitely played a large part in putting off this nation dropping into a deep depression.  However, I’ve claimed from the start that this “package” was far too small to actually have the effect that the people on “main street” need in order to ramp up employment in this nation in a way that benefits the blue collar middle class.  They are finally talking about ways, now, to use the TARP money – which was used to enable the INCREDIBLE GREED of the largest Wall Street banks – to actually do what was originally intended – which is to get money into the hands of small businesses in this country (too late for many already) and homeowners facing foreclosure – a crisis which hasn’t ebbed yet and is eating away at the value of the main asset for millions of American middle class families – their homes.  Yes, what Obama did was far superior to anything McCain/Palin would have done – we’d surely be in a depression had they somehow managed to win – BUT, WE’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET, and President Obama still will be required to take on the Republicans to do something drastic to turn things around.

According to Robert Reich, a man I truly respect, the real unemployment rate in America is something north of 17% – there is a staggering number of Americans who no longer are “statistics” they’ve been out of work for so long.  I have good friends, in their 50’s – who have been good productive workers, with advanced skills, for 25 – 30 years, and they can’t even get an INTERVIEW!  So, we shouldn’t be patting Obama on the back because he’s better than the alternative, we should be pushing him to stand TALLER against this Republican obstructionism which is UN-AMERICAN at a time like this – AND PUBLICLY CALL IT WHAT IT IS – and use the bully pulpit of the Presidency to CALL THESE PEOPLE OUT!  We have over TWO TRILLION dollars worth of infrastructure repair needed just to bring our hiways and bridges UP TO CODE!  Why are we waiting to spend the money?  Because a bunch of Republicans who robbed our treasury of trillions will complain about budget deficits?  After what they’ve done?  That shouldn’t be too hard an argument to overcome if taken directly to the American people.  We need people like Randi Rhodes pushing this President to live up to the progressive ideals that got him elected.

 Lately I’ve heard Rhodes applauding Max Baucus of all people – I guess he looks good for his age.  Well, the guy has taken over 3.5 million in “donations” from the health care industry which he’s a leader in “reforming.”  What we’re going to end up with, unless the backlash to this Congressional fiasco is large enough to convince these bums they will all be voted out if they can’t do the will of the people they serve, is a “reform” package that forces 30+ million customers into the insurance company’s plans, taxes the benefits of those of us who have employee based health care plans, creates even larger profits for the insurance companies – thereby making it even more difficult to “fix” the “fix” because they’ll have even more than the 1.5 million dollars per day they’re spending now to defeat “reform, and pushes the most expensive customers of the insurance companies into medicare in an attempt to make their folly look like “historic” legislation.  Randi Rhodes’ optimism for this plan honestly befuddles me.  I’m getting to the point where I believe the “status quo” might end up being better than this Congress’ “solution” which will be forever “stained” by this huge amount of money spent in order to kill the legislation.  Why are we constantly seeking “compromise” with people who have proven that their main interest is the undoing of our federal government?  I JUST DON’T GET THIS – and we need the people who have a “voice” to be speaking on behalf of the 45 million uninsured, the millions unemployed, the children who are going to get a sub-standard education if the huge projected cuts continue, state by state.  WE, AS A NATION, ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP!

I won’t even get into the Iraq and Afganistan fiasco’s in detail, but suffice it to say that I’ve heard comments from Rhodes where she is actually defending Obama’s decisions (or lack thereof, depending on your perspective I guess) in these occupations.  Obama is making a HUGE gamble by escalating the Afganistan occupation and, I believe, the claim we would be bringing our troops home in 18 months was disengenuous at best.  Maybe it was calculated, but there’s no way we will be able to “get the job done” (whatever that is) in that timeframe, and pulling out then with the work “undone” will be far worse than doing the right thing now and bringing our troops home from both Afganistan and Iraq and concentrating on getting our own “house in order.”  That would take tremendous courage because the President would be accused of being “weak” by the likes of Dick Cheney and all the other unworthy critics from the “right” who bungled us into this mess in the first place.  They remind me of people who would leave the mess in the toilet for someone else to flush!  Of course, the solution to that problem would have been to allow the investigations which SHOULD HAVE GONE AHEAD as soon as Obama took office regarding ALL THE ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, including torture – which the Bush/Cheney administration is KNOWN to have committed.  I feel so bad for our troops who will be making their 6th maybe 7th tour into this “graveyard of empires” with little hope for anything but creating more hatred against the United States of America, and more devastation to themselves and their already disintegrating families.  I’m really disappointed that Obama made this decision and possibly moreso that Randi Rhodes is finding ways to rationalize it.

Let me end tonight by saying that, as I was driving home from school tonight, Randi was talking about the TARP fiasco (boy, there’s a lot of fiasco’s out there, post Bush, aren’t there).  Evidently, there’s a Congressional investigation going on into Bank of America’s “sweet” deal in gaining control of Merrill Lynch using TARP funds to do it.  Rhodes was pointing out, quite accurately, the incredible circumstances around that deal which was orchestrated by Hank Paulsen, Bush’s Treasury Secretary – who was only two years removed from being the CEO of Goldman Sachs at the time of the meltdown.  In FACT, Paulsen played a large part at Goldman in the abuses which led to the meltdown.  And, I believe the circumstances played out a bit differently than the way Rhodes presented them, but the result would be the same.  I believe the failure of Goldman’s main rival, Lehman Brothers, led to the immenent failure of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and Paulsen had to act fast to save his (I’m sure) huge interest in Goldman.  These present ivestigations are interesting, but they’re not aimed at the real scandal which was the actions of Paulsen and Bush.  This is just one part of the Bush administation where I’ve been lobbying heavily (albeit to about 50 – 100 people nightly via this website) for full investigations of the Bush administration.  The TRUTH is that something on the line of 5 TRILLION dollars was absconded from the American public during this orchestrated “meltdown” and the money went somewhere.  I’ve been amazed that the new adminstration seemed not to have the least bit of curiosity as to where that money went, and a minimal desire for any accountability – just as in the torture, the illegal wiretapping, the outing of a CIA agent, the lying us into war, and the bludgeoning of our economy in general.  I believe we would all be better served, due to her position, well earned over the years, as a voice for progressives, if Randi Rhodes would be demanding accountability from President Obama, instead of being his “mouthpiece.”