Obama meets reality
The fast start of Pres. Obama has hit the wall of reality. His nominee for Secty. of the Treasury, in charge of the IRS, Timothy Geithner, had tax return problems, but was confirmed anyway. His nominee for Health Secretary, former Senator Tom Daschle, "the only one" who could do this job, was found to have several tax problems and only acted to resolve them after he was found out and under pressure has withdrawn his name from contention. Also, his nominee for Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis, is under investigation for tax problems. And that's only the lastest nominations.
Obama has also been criticized by the Jewish community for the appointment of Samantha Power to the National Security Council, since she is known as a strong critic of Israel. She is a Harvard University Professor who has made many statements criticizing Israel for it's treatment of the Palestinians, including accusations of "human right's abuses," and "genocide." In response she issued a statement denying that she is in fact anti-Israel, but few informed observers are convinced.
Then there is the question of the humongous economic package to save the economy of nearly one trillion dollars, that is being proposed even before the previous b$850 of the Bush Presidency has all been spent. What has irked some Republicans and Democrats is that this package, which is billed as a "stimulus" package, is more "payout" (otherwise known as "pork") than stimulus. At this moment, with many amendments added to it, there is a distinct possibility that this important package may not pass. It seems like a typical Democratic plan, throw money at the problem, and many Republicans see this as an attempt to pay for favorite Democratic-liberal social programs, hidden inside this huge package. So there is both Democratic and Republic opposition against passage of this bill, while Obama has come out and said that it is essential that it be passed. So Obama has succumbed to the same problems that Pres. Clinton had at the beginning of his Presidency, when he over-estimated his ability to persuade Congress to condone his excessive liberal social spending. Now a compromise is in the works, but not exactly what Obama wanted.
On the security side, Obama has made two huge mistakes. Who was the first foreign leader he called on the telephone, it was none other than that important Head of State, Mahmud Abbas! What a cockamamy idea, he doesn't even have a State to be head of. As if this wasn't enough of a signal, the first TV station that he agreed to an interview with was - Al-Jazeera! What is going on here, is Obama signalling to the Arab world and the Palestinians particularly, don't worry, I'm sensitive to your needs?
Also, so far Obama has not mentioned the "war on terror" that was the hallmark of the Bush Presidency in the wake of the Twin Towers' attacks of 9/11 that killed 3,000 Americans. Has he abandoned that existential struggle. It would seem not, since he plans to expand the number of US troops to be sent to Afghanistan. But, yesterday it was announced by Kyrgystan that the use of the Manas airport route to supply the US troops is being closed permanently. How the Obama administration will overcome this problem is unclear.
Not a great start to a much ballyhooed Presidency.
Obama has also been criticized by the Jewish community for the appointment of Samantha Power to the National Security Council, since she is known as a strong critic of Israel. She is a Harvard University Professor who has made many statements criticizing Israel for it's treatment of the Palestinians, including accusations of "human right's abuses," and "genocide." In response she issued a statement denying that she is in fact anti-Israel, but few informed observers are convinced.
Then there is the question of the humongous economic package to save the economy of nearly one trillion dollars, that is being proposed even before the previous b$850 of the Bush Presidency has all been spent. What has irked some Republicans and Democrats is that this package, which is billed as a "stimulus" package, is more "payout" (otherwise known as "pork") than stimulus. At this moment, with many amendments added to it, there is a distinct possibility that this important package may not pass. It seems like a typical Democratic plan, throw money at the problem, and many Republicans see this as an attempt to pay for favorite Democratic-liberal social programs, hidden inside this huge package. So there is both Democratic and Republic opposition against passage of this bill, while Obama has come out and said that it is essential that it be passed. So Obama has succumbed to the same problems that Pres. Clinton had at the beginning of his Presidency, when he over-estimated his ability to persuade Congress to condone his excessive liberal social spending. Now a compromise is in the works, but not exactly what Obama wanted.
On the security side, Obama has made two huge mistakes. Who was the first foreign leader he called on the telephone, it was none other than that important Head of State, Mahmud Abbas! What a cockamamy idea, he doesn't even have a State to be head of. As if this wasn't enough of a signal, the first TV station that he agreed to an interview with was - Al-Jazeera! What is going on here, is Obama signalling to the Arab world and the Palestinians particularly, don't worry, I'm sensitive to your needs?
Also, so far Obama has not mentioned the "war on terror" that was the hallmark of the Bush Presidency in the wake of the Twin Towers' attacks of 9/11 that killed 3,000 Americans. Has he abandoned that existential struggle. It would seem not, since he plans to expand the number of US troops to be sent to Afghanistan. But, yesterday it was announced by Kyrgystan that the use of the Manas airport route to supply the US troops is being closed permanently. How the Obama administration will overcome this problem is unclear.
Not a great start to a much ballyhooed Presidency.
posted by Jack Cohen at 8:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home