An American Lion

Few “bloggers” audit themselves.

As in, few bloggers refute their own bullshit, by choice, when it makes sense to do so.

I am that kind of a blogger. Sure, you get your European porn stars here, but I go classy when damp and moist seems to be the way most everyone else wants to go. I do rant and rave about things that are well below my pay grade. Why on Earth would I even pretend that I could blog about the Amish? I’m no expert.

Here’s some of my bullshit, and I wrote this on May 25, 2009:

President Obama cannot continue to alienate his base the way that he has been, so he’ll probably move to the left in a few key areas or do something to shore up the support of the very-agitated radical left crowd. They’ll clap and cheer, and breathe a sigh of relief.

They’ll make that sound that a businessman makes when he discovers that the girl he’s been rubbing up against all night is, in fact, anatomically and otherwise, a girl. Many will even forget that he’s essentially abandoned their agenda and is going to attempt to now govern as a Clinton-like centrist with more of that “triangulation” thing happening.

I can’t decide whether Obama wants to be Jimmy Carter with more charisma or Bill Clinton with slightly less charisma.

Wow! Did I blow that one!

Of course, President Obama has gone far more to the right than I ever would have imagined and he has abandoned his base. He sends out his top aides to trash Howard Dean. And, please remember, there is no Barack Obama without Howard Dean’s reform and reorganization and reorientation of the heretofore dismal efforts of the Democrat[…] National Committee (we do not give them their ‘ic’ back until I say we do).

President Obama wants to be Lyndon Johnson without the credibility. Does that even make sense?

Then there’s this steaming pile I left you back in May:

Do you really think that, now that the Democrat party actually has control of the Congress and the Executive, that they’re really going to undertake a painful series of steps to address the supposed lawlessness of the Bush era by exposing powerful Democrat politicians to legal jeopardy? I didn’t think so, either. That being said, here’s what you can count on—being disappointed in anyone elevated to hero status in American political life.

I grudgingly admire how the Obama administration is handling certain elements of our economy—yes, I wish taxes were lower. No, I suspect taxes are going to rise, and quickly. But that’s the American in me speaking. There are up and down cycles in everything, so don’t get your panties in a bunch.

See what I said above about our fine Republic. It is bigger than any man, and it is bigger than any party or crisis. The Republican in me sees our current state of affairs as an opportunity being wasted over petty infighting.

We have an historic opportunity to allow President Obama to own everything happening and reap the whirlwinds of uncertainty. When a political party is out of power, all it has to do is pounce when things go wrong. Ask the Democrat party where it would be right now were it not for Katrina and the Iraq War. Now when you consider the case of the people suing because they think they were eavesdropped upon, how does that compare to actually seeing an entire city go underwater and how does that compare to a war that spun out of control?

Jiminy Christmas! I think I got that one right. Out Republic is bigger than any one man or one person, and I know they gave it to us to keep, but we really haven’t bothered with any of that nonsense, now, have we? Of course not. In Lincoln’s day, most Americans would have given it away to keep from being ruined financially. Too bad for them. Had it not been for Lincoln, there’d be nothing worth holding onto around here.

President Obama was compared with Lincoln when elected. How is that working out for you now?

I was pretty much on the mark here:

Do you see any Democrats taking ownership of the rebuilding of New Orleans, now coming up on the 4th anniversary of the devastating hurricane, and do you see them acknowledging that they now own the issue of the Iraq War?

Sorry, Democrats. You own all of those issues now.

You cannot sit there and howl like it is 2006 anymore. You now have to lead, govern, and grow up. You cannot continue to blame George W. Bush for every one of your personal problems. You own Afghanistan, health care, the cost of a slice of bread, the weather, the auto industry, the collapse of individual state economies—you own it. And remember not to alienate your base as you dance around the edges of these issues. It can come back and haunt you.

This President has not done anything for New Orleans. People like Harry Shearer, who would otherwise reside comfortably in his base, have thrown up their hands in disgust. It’s Christmas 2009, and New Orleans has a swell football team, and not much else. Those people still hurt. They are still displaced and recovering. They are suffering mightily from the dispersion of the people to the four winds. Communities are still dashed and left wanting. I figured by now, President Obama would have done more than give pretty speeches.

Really, that is all he’s done. Great speeches. A fine social calendar. The photo opportunities sure are marvelous.

Substance, though?

None that I can see, and I’m being generous.

Overall, comparing myself to how I was seven months ago, I am somewhat pleased with my analysis. I think I did okay, nothing to write home about. I’m surprised that the President has abandoned his base on health care. I really thought he would have been smart enough to trick them into thinking he was really with them. I guess he hasn’t even bothered to try and fool them.

Has my bullshit been refuted? Nope. Not really. If you’re just tuning in, that’s a fair assessment of my skills. They are quite mad.