I tossed this out at Q&O [1], almost as a throwaway. But the more I consider things, I wonder if I’ve not hit on something central. I’ve cleaned it up here a bit, since it was originally composed and posted on my Palm Treo. The topic is the economy and what we’re seeing out of the White House just now.
The indecision we see from Obama and Gethner just now is driven ask much as anything by being stunned that their plans didn’t work. They have always figured onthe standard set of leftist ‘if/then’ being the solution for any problem they might face.
What we are seeing now, is shock that not only did liberalism not solve the issue, it’s made things worse. This confusion is then compounded by voter anger, even among their supporters.
Those are all huge hurdles to get over before they can take other action.
The delay at the moment is them, trying to come up with a new plan… One that will actually work and that doesn’t run afoul of their liberal mindset… Of course such a plan doesn’t exist, nor can it given the nature of both economies and liberalism.
I’m convinced this is really at the heart of what we see coming from the Obama White House just now. These thoughts would seem to be confirmed by the new tactic sprung on us last night by the President.
WASHINGTON -FoxNews- [2] President Obama is embracing a mantle of confidence-builder in chief. Whether he is meeting with his own economic advisers or worried business leaders, his message is meant to be calm and reassuring — even in the wake of more bad economic news.
Obama will have another opportunity to assert his optimism after he meets Friday with Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who now guides the president’s economic recovery advisory board. Volcker was preparing to brief Obama and his economic team on how the $787 billion stimulus package is working.
Speaking to a gathering of the nation’s CEOs on Thursday, Obama defended his plans for pulling the economy out of a downward spiral, saying that his long-term view gives him reason to maintain optimism despite an uptick in unemployment and falling economic indicators.
One gets the impression he has finally given in to the notion that he and his people really don’t know what to do about things either. And more, as the linked article indicates, he’s started to get resistance from his own party on what policies he’s come up with, and even if he knew what to do, he doesn’t have the support, even in his own party, to do it. So, he changes tactics, and does what many doctors will do when trying to pacify something he can’t control; he offers a placebo.
It seems a little out of place, though. The change of attitude coming from this White House is enough to give one whiplash, if one is actually paying attention. After two and a half years of talking the economy down… ‘It’s the worst economy since the Depression’, and so on…now, things aren’t as bad as all that. Makes one want to check to see if his nose is growing.
“For all the, you know, angst that’s been out there, you’ve got banking institutions that are still functioning and, lo and behold, making profits,” Obama said.
So, Mr. President, were you lying to us before, or are you lying to us now? If they have profits on the books, that means they were MAKING those profits while you were telling us all we were in the crisis of our lives.
I suppose the change of direction on that, is of a kind with how dissent used to be the highest form of patriotism, but now cannot be tolerated. It all depends on who is in office, and what your political needs are. I’d like to say we’re being manipulated, but that would be too obvious, wouldn’t it?