Could really, possibly be that words and actions have consequences?
Throughout the recent presidential campaign we heard nuthin' but "hope" and "change" from now-Prez Barack Hussein Obama. Oh wait ... there was something else ... there was also that bit about how people wouldn't be "allowed" to drive what they want, eat what they want, and keep their homes at the temperature they desired ... and have the rest of the world "be ok with that."
Oh, and there was that bit about America wasn't what she should be. And then there was the part about race and class .... and then I started hearing Charlie Brown's teacher's voice (Wahh Wahh Waahh Wahh) as he proceeded to denigrate everything I love about this country. He spoke of some of our freedoms as though they were temporary and given to us by the state.
And the economy began to fall. Did anyone notice how it really started to get "iffy" last February, when this guy ... this teflon friend of Tony Rezko ... was able to slough off scandal by playing the race card, and nothing that, had it touched a Republican, would've meant quick political death (No, I am *Not* advocating harm to the president, so don't start with your nasty comments!!!) ... but any scandal that touched BHO rolled right off his back like water on a duck?
And as it became more and more evident that his associations with Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers, "Frank the socialist poet", Father Fleger (sp?) and others
... and as concerns about his growing up around socialists, and his travels on various passports, and his questionable nationality (did he become an Indonesian citizen via his step-father or not ... and was he actually born in Hawaii or was his Kenyan birth just *recorded* there, as was allowed at the time)
... and when he wouldn't release school records, university papers written, etc . .... did anyone else notice how the stock market and the economy got wigglier and wigglier?
And then last September, when it became *really* evident through his big "celebration" of his nomination (for which he still hasn't paid the City of Chicago, to the tune of at least $2M) ... complete with it's temple-like setting, reminiscent of the grandeur insisted up on a certain 1930s dictator in Europe, with that one's fascination with mythical gods, etc. ... the market really began to slide ...
... and while John McCain (who was my default nominee) went back to Washington DC to do the job the people had elected him to do, BHO said, "call me if you need any help" ...
And when BHO's tune morphed from "hope and change" to doom & gloom ... people finally started noticing ... well, ok, maybe the people who started noticing were the "conservatives" who'd "had enough of Bush" and those that wanted to "teach the Republican party a lesson" and voted for BHO because he couldn't be "all that bad" ... those might be the ones that started noticing, because those (and the people who never voted for him in the first place) started taking their money out of the market and stuffing it in their mattresses ... ok, maybe it was more like hiding it in other places, or putting it into more tangible things than "the stock market" ... but the market started to tank, with the willing accomplice known as "the media."
... and when he actually became (le sigh) our president (le sigh) with yet another lavish extravaganza paid for by taxpayers (his contributors knew they were funding his campaign, but I wonder if they knew they were going to fund extravaganza after lavish fete) he began to show his true self to those of us who had been looking at a "nekkid emperor" all along. While his supporters were exclaiming their relief that he'd won because now they wouldn't have to pay their mortgages or car payments or rent, the rest of us said "oh shit, here it comes" and listened to him start spouting things that to the trained ear sound like socialism, and to the liberal (comatose) ear sounded like relief from obligations and personal responsibility.
And the market tanked in a big way ...
... and Obama, who took office less than 3 months ago, has struck down one by one conservative values that had been preserved one by one by President Bush ... and Obama did it with victory in his voice and glee and vindication in his eye ...
... and the market continued to tank.
And BHO said that Wall Street and capitalists are greedy and must be more generous, and that aid should be given to people who take no responsibillty for their lives, and that "everyone who makes under $250K/hr" will be given a tax cut ... 'course, that number kept changing throughout the campaign season to where it finally reached under $100K, so we don't know where that will actually end up, do we? And if you give "tax cuts" (also known as "income credits") to people who dont pay taxes, isn't that more of a combination of welfare and confiscation?
... and the market continued to tank.
And then we had TARP1 and TARP2 and the "Spending Stimulus Package" and the Omnibus bill ... these were supposed to stimulate the economy, but when money you've thrown at a situation ends up being the same amount lost by the people whose company you were throwing it at, well, that's a nice example of pearls before swine, now, isn't it?
And there's talk of yet *another* "stimulus" package looming ... even though the huge majority of economists say it's not necessary. Let's talk turkey here ... these 'stimulus' bills are just a way for the Democrats in Congress (that's both the House *and* the Senate, remember) to get money for their constituents back home, a.k.a. keeping their jobs 'cause they don't know how to do an honest day's work anymore.
And then, when he *finally* recognizes that the constant drumbeat of doom & gloom coming from so many sources is actually hurting the stock market because he and his administration make investors *very nervous*, BHO changed his tune Thursday, 3/12
Confronting misgivings, even in his own party, President Barack Obama mounted a stout defense of his blueprint to overhaul the economy Thursday, declaring the national crisis is “not as bad as we think” and his plans will speed recovery.
Challenged to provide encouragement as the nation’s “confidence builder in chief,” Obama said Americans shouldn’t be whipsawed by bursts of either bad or good news and he was “highly optimistic” about the long term.
And then Friday 3/13 China's leadership made a speech in which BHO & Congress are admonished to be responsible with our economy and not devalue the dollar too much because they have invested so heavily in us.
At the NPC meetings, Premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern over $1 trillion of U.S. assets held by China, and called on the U.S. to guarantee its “good credit.” From the Washington Post:
Wen’s remarks, which were made at the close of the annual National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing, echoed those that have been made by other high-ranking policymakers and bankers over the past year since the subprime crisis devastated the value of the mortgage-backed securities that made up a large chunk of China’s U.S. holdings.
“We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried,” Wen said.
At a number of diplomatic meetings since then, Chinese officials have raised the issue of U.S. Treasuries and have sought assurances the United States that it will do everything possible to maintain the stability of its economy. On Friday, Wen called on the Obama administration to “maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China’s assets.”
So Saturday, 3/14 Obama's Mr. Sunny again.
President Barack Obama on Saturday downplayed divisions between the U.S. and Europe over how to tackle the world's financial crisis and said China should have "absolute confidence" that its sizable investments in the United States are safe.
In a conversation focused heavily on the economy, Obama met in the Oval
Office with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. It was the
latest in a series of talks the president has had with his counterparts
around the world before a pair of international meetings where the
economic crisis will dominate.
Both leaders will attend the Group of 20 countries summit in London on
April 2, and the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in mid-April.
Obama said the notion that the U.S. and Europe are already taking
sides, with America pushing for more stimulus spending and European
nations favoring tighter regulation of the financial industry, is a
"phony debate."
"I can't be clearer in saying that there are no sides," Obama told
reporters after the meeting. He said a full range of approaches,
including stimulus spending such as his own recently enacted $787
billion package, and financial regulation, are needed to help revive
the global economy.
Financial regulation "is front and center" among the issues he wants to deal with, he said.
"In my mind, at least, there is no conflict or contradiction between
the positions of the G-20 countries and how we're going to be moving
forward," Obama said, adding that differences in details were being
worked out. "I expect to have a productive meeting." ...
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had said Friday he was concerned about the
safety of the estimated $1 trillion his country has invested in U.S.
government debt. China is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, and
Obama's administration is counting on the Chinese to help pay for the
$787 billion economic stimulus package by buying U.S. bonds.
"Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be
honest, I'm a little bit worried," Wen said. "I would like to call on
the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure
the safety of Chinese assets."
Wen - and other investors - needn't worry, Obama said.
"There's a reason why even in the midst of this economic crisis you've
seen actual increases in investment flows here into the United States,"
Obama said. "I think it's a recognition that the stability not only of
our economic system, but also our political system, is extraordinary.
"I think that not just the Chinese government, but every investor, can
have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in the United
States," he added.
Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said he believed there were signs that the public's confidence is growing in the administration's ability to tackle the financial crisis. He credited the "Obama factor."
"There is no doubt in our minds and there is no doubt in the president's mind that in fact we will overcome this. We will climb out of this hole," Biden told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "It just takes some real perseverence and you've got to have a guy as gutsy as the president who's willing to make some really tough decisions."
Biden, who was in Little Rock on Saturday night to help Sen. Blanche Lincoln kick off her re-election bid, said he believed the economy was showing some signs of hope.
"Consumer confidence is slightly up. The market is slightly up," Biden said. "It'll go down again, but the people are beginning to figure out that the president's got a plan and he believes we can work our way through this."
During his appearance at the White House, Silva said the crisis gives world leaders an "extraordinary opportunity" to demonstrate to their people that they are capable of handling major issues. He said it was critically important to create jobs, create incomes and boost consumption.
"We are in a large ship and water is leaking," Silva said, speaking through a translator. "Now is the time to fix the leaking and make the economy go back to the tracks."
Only time will tell, but I'll bet Obama's mouth is getting tired from talking out both sides of it.
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