Team Obama In Prevent Mode
On last nights show I discussed the fact that Obama and Dodd were the two largest recipients of AIG financial contributions to politicians. Now that the anger of the public has been successfully diverted to AIG employees, the Obama Administration hit the Sunday circuit with their new and thinly veiled AIG bailout. Obama, who just last week seemed so angry about these bonuses being paid out, has come to the rescue of his contributors and is now considering scaling back the attempts to steal 90% of said bonuses. While it should be noted that I feel that the bonuses should be paid out, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the conflict of interest on the Presidents part. While I applaud his effort here, I see right through it to the heart of the matter. While politics in Washington D.C. can be far from clean, I would like to take this moment to introduce the Capitol City to the dirtiest politics north of the Rio Grande. District of Columbia, meet Chicago.
Vice President Joe Biden's economic adviser Jared Bernstein was on ABC's This Week Sunday when he said the following... "I think the president would be concerned that this bill may have some problems in going too far -- the House bill may go too far in terms of some -- some legal issues, constitutional validity, using the tax code to surgically punish a small group, That may be a dangerous way to go."
While I agree with the comment, it should be pointed out that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to draw that conclusion. Yes, singling out a small group of Americans and using the power of Congress to launch an orchestrated financial war on them might be a little bit of a dangerous precedent to set. But the Administration new this early on in the process. So the question becomes why would they let it go this far before beginning talks of stopping it? The answer is surprisingly simple. Obama needed to keep attention away from his horrific financial Titanic he calls a budget. He welcomed the diversion created by these bonuses. While America focused on $165 million in the private sector, Czarak rolled out his ten trillion in debt producing budget. But will we notice?
I would at this point like to applaud the efforts of New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg. "People are disgusted and outraged, as they should be, But let's not overreact in a way that basically has the Congress grabbing its pitchforks, and charging up the hill, and abusing what is a core authority of a government, which is the authority to tax its people." Gregg said on CNN's State Of The Union. He went on to say "The practical implications of this is bankruptcy for the United States. There's no other way around it, If we maintain the proposals which are in this budget over the 10-year period that this budget covers, this country will go bankrupt. People will not buy our debt; our dollar will become devalued." Well said.
Yet once again, the arrogance of Obama rears it's ugly head. While I have on many occasions lamented George W. Bush's trading of political favors to get his pet policy's approved, this occasion points out well why he did so. Politically speaking, Obama would be better served just letting his AIG "cronies" (I've been dying to use that word on you leftists) bite the bullet. By first joining his Democrat cohorts (and a few wayward Republicans) in scapegoating these citizens, and now coming to their rescue, he takes a huge political risk. Clinton was the Teflon man because he kept his scandals far too complicated for the American people to understand. This one is much more simple. Obama owes the people who padded his pockets, so new he must bail them out of this Congressional witch hunt. The problem for him? He has already directed the anger of the American public at this group. To bail them out now places him directly in the line of fire. Can he dodge the bullets? Time will tell.
I would warn AIG that they are not out of the woods yet. Obama has shown a tendency to hang on to friends a little too long before he throws them under the bus. Reverend Wright and William Ayers can testify to that. But on the bright side, he also does at times seem to be totally oblivious to the threats that certain relationships pose to his Candidacy. His choice for Secretary of State is a prime example of this.
So, as the wheels turn in Washington D.C., let's take a look at how this week will play out. We will have Czarack Obama attempting to cover the tails of his AIG donors. Some members of the right will call him out and attempt to shed some light on his financial ties to them. They will all be making a lot of noise. That's why it is important for the few who can see the big picture to stay focused on the real meat and potatoes here. We need to yell loudly enough to be heard over the distracting din about this ridiculous budget this administration has proposed. As for the small stuff, let the chips fall where they may. Either the people will see through his act or they won't. The important thing here, what can and must happen, is for this disasterous budget to be exposed. Let's not get caught screaming about Lewinski while the nuclear cat gets out of the bag and finds a home in China again. Let's stay on point and keep this marxist from destroying our economy beyond future repair.