Maybe this is a result of the new "transparency" Obama is aiming for, but one thing I really haven't been too impressed with and/or too happy with is all the "problems" that seem to be going on with a lot of the staff/advisors etc. Obama has chosen. First, a lot of them seemed to have had some issues with paying their taxes properly, and the trend with questionable practices seems to continue. I bet there are lots of "innocent" tax mistakes all over DC (on both sides), but geeze, I really wish he would have been tougher on his picks with their problems.
Now we have fishy stuff going on with Steven Rattner. I'm not impressed. Come on Obama! If you want to be reelected, and want to keep the trust people have placed in you, you need to do more in regards to corrupted politics - don't let them get away with it.
That said, I'd have a lot more to say on politics and other pet-peeves I have, but right now I have to take a shower. Later maybe.
Our little Family
A gal from Germany, a guy from California, another BYU love story, 1 bunny named Killer, 2 little girls, 3 degrees, 4 bikes, books in every corner, drawings on the wall, music and dancing, vegetable garden on the balcony, chocolate and prosciutto, pitched tents in the living rooms, cloth diapers in the bathroom, laundry piles in the bedroom, unvaccumed stair way, unironed clothes, lots of hugs, a bunch of tears, some heart ache, some fights, some disappointments, much joy, lots of traveling, nightmares and night cuddles, trips to the ER - swearing included, diarrhea disasters in public bathrooms, marathons, bike rides, prayers, faith, hope and hopefully some charity. Happiness.
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3 comments:
Obama is a Politician with a capital P. To me that means he says what he has to say to appeal to people. In this day and age you unfortunately have to be that in order to play the game of Presidential politics.
Obama, as did many before him, saw that the American people are fed up with the same-old political shenanigans (lobbying, divisive speech, party over principle). So he played on that by making vows to put an end to such things. Barack has a charisma and a personality that is very appealing to most people. So when he addressed people's issues with government during his campaign everybody was lured on board by his Siren song.
But the ending is the same as it always has been, he turns out to be just another player in the political game. He's no more virtuous than any of his predecessors. He is just a Politician, playing the game to please his constituents that have been ignored for 8 years by our previous Politician. The most recent evidence of this is the report on rightwing extremism that the Dept. of Homeland Security (wasteful spending if you ask me) just put out.
Well, Troy, I wouldn't say that Obama is "just a politican, playing the game to please his constituents." (BTW, who are the president's constituents? He is not a senator...) Anyway, I do think that he is trying to put an end to excessive lobbying, or at least to reduce it. But when he took over office, he obviously had to work with what was left over from the old administrations...
Yes, he could have picked others than the lobbyists / tax evadors, etc. But I think you will find that in order to be effective in any kind of team setting, you need strong and intelligent people who support you. If he had picked lame-os nobody has ever heard of before, well, nobody would take him seriously.
So that's the sad thing about it. But I do think he is trying to un-corrupt American politics. He just needs a team to support him in that.
Is that a double standard? Maybe. Is that playing the game? Yes. But the game you must play until you are in a position to change the rules. And I think Obama will, at least more than any of the other presidents ever have.
Now having said this, I do think Obama could do a lot of things differently, but I do think he is trying his best in the lobbying department.
I hope Obama can do what he says he can do. I hope he's not as crooked as I feel he might be and I hope that having him be president leads our country in the right direction. But most importantly, I hope we can figure out a way to keep crooked politics out of Washington. I don't think anybody should every have to play the crooked game just to create good outcomes. I think everyone should be honest and truly concerned for the people they represent. I agree with Franny. I wish he was as wise with his staff picks as he was with his campaign. But really, look at the pool he gets to choose from. Who in Washington isn't doing shady things? Liberals and Conservatives.
Henry
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