As an English teacher I guess I have to be impressed at how our politicians manage to creatively use the language.  And, this is one issue that I see as definitely “bipartisan.”  I could go on and on about what took place during the Bush/Cheney era or how if a republican says one thing – look in almost the opposite direction for the truth, but let’s just focus on today’s politicians and the pundits who so reverently follow them.  The one thing that’s BUGGING me the most tonight is the FACT that what I started predicting months ago (OK, there goes my ego again) is rearing its ugly head.  Believe me, I want to be wrong on this one – but just as the I can’t remember who said it said, I DON’T THINK SO! :o) 

The groundwork is being set as I’m writing this for the United State’s CONTINUED presence in Iraq for the INDEFINITE future.  Some who read this might believe that is a good thing.  I’ll try to explain why I believe it’s not – but, first lets get to the evidence that is beginning to show up already.  First, President Obama (remember, I’m doing everything I can to be on his side – and I DO hope he succeeds) has declared the war is over and our “Combat troops” have been ALL removed.  I call that disengenuous, you could call it Obama keeping his promise (even though he’s a few months late) to withdraw our troops within 16 months of taking office.  It really does sicken me as I watch them call the remaining 50,000 American troops (and who knows how many “contractors”) “Non-combat troops.”  I would really like a definition of a “non-combat troop.”  Is that a troop that hasn’t had combat training?  Are they not carrying weapons?  What are they supposed to do if they are attacked?  To me, these are all questions I hope Obama addresses as he explains why they are still there and how he can say he’s withdrawn the troops when they ARE still there.  Realistically, if you look at the history of this fiasco, Obama and his administration have done nothing more than manage the agreement negotiated by the Bush administration.  Seriously, and again I’m an Obama supporter, if he claims any credit for this it is a false claim in my mind.  What was the courageous leadership in just continuing with the Bush “doctrine?”

President Obama, I’m sure, will claim that the “non-combat” troops will be home by the end of next year.  Again, this is according to the “plan” negotiated by the Bush administration.  But, do you really believe that?  We have an embassy the size of the Vatican in Bagdad.  Do you really believe we’re bringing all the troops home?  Instead of “non-combat” troops are we going to be stuck with the “contractor” route to keep this fiasco going?  Check out what these contractors are making compared to our troops.  Read “The Gamble” by Thomas Ricks and you’ll see why I don’t believe for an instance that our troops are coming home.  How are we paying for this continued presence in Iraq?  Evidently with the money that should be going to the “99ers” here in America – those who haven’t been able to find work for the past 2+ years.  Or how about this TRUTH – the money we’ve ALREADY spent in Iraq is enough to fund a single payer health care system in the United States for EVERYONE for 10 years!  Where are our priorities?

Writing anything about President Obama that is “negative” makes me feel a bit uneasy – because the alternative is so starkly BAD!  I honestly can’t even imagine how the American public could consider putting the republicans, who are desperately trying to dismantle our government, back into power.  How can a single American worker who’s lost his/her job, is in danger of losing a job, or is struggling with the reduced wages from the job they need to be thankful for as they look around at all the unemployed workers even consider voting republican?  I’m to the point that I’m calling that STUPID!  But, as I listen to one after another of the “tea partiers,” or the good American workers who have gotten sucked in by the Beck’s, Limbaugh’s, Savage’s, Larson’s, Hannity’s and the other’s lies I realize there is a powerful propaganda machine working in this nation that should be getting EVERYONE’S attention.  Additionally, I often think the “tea partiers” – or at least many of them – are upset about the same things I am – they’ve just allowed themselves to be convinced that it’s all Obama’s fault – therefore enabling the obstructionist behavior of the republicans which is just making matters worse.

We might not be officially in a depression but I can attest that it is depressing having one party full of pathological liars and another party of “whimps” who are disengenuous at best about their intentions.  Many of us on the “progressive” side of the “ledger” thought we were voting in someone who REALLY believed in the “change we can believe in.”  He convinced us that “Yes we can” take on the corporations and the special interests who have MUCKED up the political process in America to the point where the “little guy” is becoming a huge group of unemployed, and talented, workers scrounging for the next day’s bills!  But what did we get?  (and, to people like Randi Rhodes who continue to be cheerleaders for President Obama – yes, he’s a darned sight better than anything the republicans have to offer – but as the saying goes, “that aint saying much.”)  We evidently elected a president who is very sensitive to offending the people on the right wing in America who HATE him simply because of the color of his skin.  That speech President Obama gave telling us that the “combat mission in Iraq is over” about made me gag!  And, unfortunately, as I’ve said on this site many times, there’s a lot more to be concerned about if you’re a “progressive” regarding our president and the democrats.

Before I go on, let me just add a couple thoughts about that speech on Iraq.  To listen to President Obama you would think that George W Bush was some kind of genuine, caring, person who simply had a “disagreement” over policy with our new president.  One of the main reasons I voted for President Obama was his clear opposition to the Iraq invasion, his PROMISE to get us OUT in 16 months or less, and his clear criticism of the Bush/Cheney regime.  Since taking office Obama has approached this subject with “kid gloves.”  He even went so far as to STOP all investigations of the Bush/Cheney fiasco.  Other than the public’s desperate “need to know” regarding what ACTUALLY transpired during those 6 years that Bush screwed up this occupation and invasion, Obama’s refusal to allow investigations almost certainly DOOMS the rest of us to another misadventure in the future.  As I’ve said, I never thought our leaders would make this type of MISTAKE again after Viet Nam, but Ohhhhhhh was I wrong on that one!  Some of the “things” we’re “doomed” to repeat (and, maybe already are repeating) are contractor abuses, torture or prisoner abuses, and abuses in the way we medically attend to our troops once they are out of the theatre of war.

There’s an old saying that goes something like: “if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing NO one!”  That is the sense I get from our president.  His Oval Office speech seemed to be aimed right at the middle, certainly attempting to placate the “right.”  I mean, as stated many times on this site, Obama is simply following the path set forth by President Bush in Iraq.  And, you would think, after listening to his speech that the “surge” was some kind of successful policy.  In fact, I’m sick of hearing people claim the surge was successful.  I think John Boehner went so far as to make sure Obama wasn’t able to take any credit for the surge.  Who in their right mind would want it?  These people are still deluding themselves that there is some kind of “wonderful” solution on the horizon in Iraq.  The reality?  Not ONE of the political objectives – the MAIN OBJECTIVES of the surge when Bush laid it out – has been met.  NOT ONE!  On top of that, you NEVER hear people like Boehner talk about the additional 1500 AMERICAN TROOPS who have died while our political leaders are desperately trying to save face – remember Viet Nam, anyone?  And, in the mean time America has TOSSED AWAY about 400 – 500 BILLION dollars which is desparately needed at home.  It almost feels to me that our political leaders feel a stronger obligation to the people of Iraq than to the people of America – ie  the “99ers.”

This disengenuousness of the Obama administration goes way beyond Iraq.  I’ll just list a few examples – feel free to disagree or add other examples – let’s start with transparency.  Lately, it seems as if Obama has recognized the great hypocracy between his campaign pledge and the reality of his presidency when it came to transparency.  However, the “backroom” deals have been flowing as if Rahm Emanuel found Nirvana!  You remember Emanuel, he’s Obama’s chief of staff who referred to liberals as “f__king retards.”  I pointed out that he was a HUGE mistake from the day Obama appointed him.  The “chorus” of people agreeing with me is growing larger every day, and it will be interesting to see how “loud” President Obama allows this “chorus” to get before he takes a different coarse – and FIRES Emanuel.  To me, Rahm Emanuel is the epitome of the backroom politician – and, as the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” So much for transparency!

Then there’s the economy.  I’m presently reading “FreeFall” by Joseph Stiglitz, I’ve read “Conscience of a Liberal” by Paul Krugman, and “The Big Short” by Michael Lewis – all of them referencing the meltdown of the economy which started in 2007.  Stiglitz is the least complimentary of President Obama due to Obama’s similar actions regarding the economy to those he followed in Iraq – that is, following what was laid out by Bush/Cheney.  Basically, Obama showed no courageous leadership here, either.  Now, I’m talking about the bailout of the Wall Street banks and not the stimulus package.  Although Stiglitz agrees with Krugman (and me – you can check out my “predictions” in the archive regarding the “puny” size of the “stimulus package”) that the stimulus package was WAY too small and not targeted enough toward actual “stimulus.”  Stiglitz also agrees with my contention that was being made prior to Obama taking the oath of office, that hiring Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary and Larry Summers as his “chief economic advisor” was a HORRIBLE decision.  (I don’t remember my exact words, but I do remember that I referred to it as a “business as usual” decision)  True to form, Obama was “advised” to continue the bailouts started by Hank Paulson which, according to Stiglitz, are leading to problems much more severe than than the alternatives had we “faced the music” right up front.  The shareholders of those “too big to fail” banks should not have been bailed out – and therefore the bankers themselves wouldn’t have been able to dish out the lavish bonuses – TO THEMSELVES – the memory of which is still threatening to create HUGE damage to this country.  On top of all that, we will never know the details of this meltdown, because Obama stepped in to block ALL investigations of the Bush administration.  I wonder, is there anyone out there besides me who would like to know how many shares of Goldman Sachs Hank Paulson was controlling when he stepped in to “save” them?  According to Stiglitz, Paulson even funneled BILLIONS through AIG in order that they could pay off “bets” made by Goldman – money that went straight through AIG to Goldman.

I could go on and on – Bush/Cheney BOTH admitted to authorizing WAR CRIMES on national TV – Obama stopped the investigations.  Karl Rove and Harriet Meyers (and others) refused to answer subpoenas to Congress – Obama blocked investigations.  Dick Cheney “outed” a CIA agent – Obama blocked investigations.  Alberto Gonzales lied REPEATEDLY before Congress – you guessed it, Obama blocked investigations (anyone besides me find it ironic that a baseball player has been charged with perjury for allegedly lying about steroids while Gonzales was lying about the very functioning of our justice department?) and then there’s the lying us into war, all the war profiteering, the out and out stealing of funds authorized for Iraq, the illegal wiretapping, and the tearing down of EVERY department of government the republicans could destroy – including the MMS (Minerals Management Service) which abdicated it’s oversight regarding the deepwater horizon disaster in the Gulf and the mine shaft disaster in West Virginia.  I will never understand what was gained by blocking the investigations of all these wrongs!

I think what President Obama and some of his supporters don’t understand is that people like me are disgusted with the PROCESS of government.  I actually want to see republicans and democrats speaking to each other civily and negotiating the best legislation they can in good faith with the average American family in mind as they do so.  This AINT gonna happen as long as “K street” runs rampant in Washington DC, corporations have unlimited access to our electoral process (Citizens United), and the cost of gaining political office is out of the reach of the average citizen.  There is a “war within” going on in America and those of us at the “bottom” are counting on the demcrats to carry the torch for us – we expect them to be the leaders.  Instead, it appears they are in collusion with some of the evil that is making everyone crazy.  The one who has to stand tall in all this is President Obama – and, the fight won’t be won until the present day leaders of the republican party have been “put out to pasture,” it’s that simple in my mind!

We now have people who have benefitted from the pro-corporate atmosphere attempting to buy their way into office.  For heaven’s sake, in California alone it is reported that Meg Whitman is spending more than $100 MILLION of her own “fortune” to gain the governors mansion and Carly Fiorina (the CEO of Hewlett Packard – where the employees played “Ding Dong The Witch is dead” from “The Wizard of Oz” in celebration in their factories on the day she was fired – after she sent 30,000 GREAT American jobs overseas to China and India and ruined the workplace atmosphere of that company) is reported spending over $50 MILLION of her personal “fortune” in an attempt to win Barbara Boxer’s senate seat in California.  All of this should be getting people’s attention, but the sad truth is – I believe, and I’ve been predicting this almost from day one of Obama’s administration – Obama’s placating of the “right” has turned off so many voters that it is now possible for a return to power of republicans in congress – this because so many democrats have returned to the state of apathy Obama temporarily woke them from in 2008 and republicans have the corporate backing due to the Citizens United decision.  In reminding you (and me) of all the times I’ve predicted what is going to happen, I’m really not trying to be arrogant – my point is that if I, as a sixth grade school teacher, could figure all this out – then why is Obama keeping “advisors” who’re calling people like me retards?  I believe that when all is said and done it will be Rahm Emanuel who’s considered the “retard.”  (any guesses to when he’s fired?)  The sooner President Obama realizes this, the better for us all.