Is this the change we were promised?
Have you seen the fawning press stories about Obama's apology for "messing up?" The media threatened and whined for 6 years that Bush should apologize for freeing the Iraqi people even with the bad intelligence he inherited on WMD from the previous administration. But oh by golly, here was Obama apologizing within the first 2 weeks for doing something stupid--appointing Daschle on the heels of Geithner. Oh, he's just so wonderful. He admitted to a mistake! Now if he'd just admit the stimulus package is a total failure and will plunge us even deeper into economic chaos.- "The Daschle affair was more serious because his offense involved more than taxes. As Michael Kinsley once observed, in Washington the real scandal isn't what's illegal, but what's legal. Not paying taxes is one thing. But what made this case intolerable was the perfectly legal dealings that amassed Daschle $5.2 million in just two years.
He'd been getting $1 million per year from a law firm. But he's not a lawyer, nor a registered lobbyist. You don't get paid this kind of money to instruct partners on the Senate markup process. You get it for picking up the phone and peddling influence.
At least Tim Geithner, the tax-challenged Treasury secretary, had been working for years as a humble international civil servant earning non-stratospheric wages. Daschle, who had made another cool million a year (plus chauffeur and Caddy) for unspecified services to a pal's private equity firm, represented everything Obama said he'd come to Washington to upend.
And yet more damaging to Obama's image than all the hypocrisies in the appointment process is his signature bill: the stimulus package. He inexplicably delegated the writing to Nancy Pelosi and the barons of the House. The product, which inevitably carries Obama's name, was not just bad, not just flawed, but a legislative abomination.
It's not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It's not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction." Charles Krauthammer, continue reading Link
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5 comments:
If the Democrats elected or appointed, or about to be appointed to anything would just pay their taxes we would not need the stimulus. Yep Charlie Rangel I am talking about you too.
President Bush during his time in office never apologized nor accepted consequences for his actions. In apologizing and accepting Senator Daschle's withdrawal. He has done both. He didn't attempt to blame Republicans for Daschle's tax problems. He didn't even blame Daschle himself for withholding information that President Obama's vetting failed to either find or weigh accurately. President Obama accepted blame on behalf of the adminstration and his people are looking at how they can better vet future candidates.
Not demonizing opponents. Accepting responsibility. Learning from one's mistakes instead of denying them. Yes. This was the change we were promised and I'm happy to see it.
As for the fiscal stimulus. I have my doubts about whether this will work. I've been digging around databases for awhile and as far as I can tell nobody has really tried to objectively study what gets an economy going. The tax cutters and the spenders have their theories but neither have real convincing case studies to back them up. Whether it's Roosevelt's New Deal or Kennedy's or Reagan's tax cuts, there seem to be a lot of factors at work at the same time.
But having said that, we have been in serious tax cut mode since 2001 and failed to stave off what could be the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. I think it's probably time to try something different.
Instead of "He has done both. He didn't attempt to blame Republicans for Daschle's tax problems. " It should have been:
"President Obama has done both. He didn't attempt to blame Republicans for Daschle's tax problems."
A Congressional Budget Office report at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/96xx/doc9619/Gregg.pdf seems to give us more to think about.
What if he apologizes for the deaths of the unborn, but does nothing about it? Will that be note worthy too? Daschle should have never even been in the running.
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