It seems like an eternity ago that Democratic leaders were at least leaders. That is to say, they were more often than not wrong on the issues, but they at least led people and understood the responsibility of having a leadership role. Today’s Democrats (and indeed many Republicans) seem more interested in celebrity and their own snarky entitlement delusions of grandeur than any actual responsible leadership.
In fact, the oft-quoted “the buck stops here” originated with DEMOCRATIC president Harry S. Truman. America knew Harry Truman. Harry Truman was a friend of hers. Barack Obama and Jon Corzine are no Harry Truman.
President Obama, the man so dedicated to his job that he’s begun skipping meals and turning into a manorexic waif, made another stop to New Jersey to try to prop up the political corpse of Corzine. Lucky us. Sure, there’s a war in Afghanistan that he is still dithering about. Nothing is more important in this moment, however, than preserving Jon Corzine’s job. Of course, 24 hours from now, when Governor Corzine calls Governor-elect Christie to concede, the Obama propagandists will be falling all over themselves to get to the nearest mic to tell you that the election was not important and that Obama was merely sight-seeing in the inner cities of New Jersey.
Ah, but for now, New Jersey remains a priority for Obama. He can’t help himself. He gets all emotional and weak in the knees when he sees epic failure on the monumental scale of New Jersey government. He needs to be close to it. To cherish it. To just roll around in it like a pig in slop. In fact, other than his own administration, in order to see such inept, corruption-soaked socialism, Obama would have to wait until his next book club meeting with his close personal friend, Hugo Chavez, the Dictator for life of Venezuela. (Even he, however, is no Chairman Mao!)
So, once again Barack Hussein Obama has torn himself from the golf course and the endless A-list filled house parties at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to try to, in his words, “put lipstick on a pig.”
What do you say when you are campaigning for someone like Jon Corzine? One has to imagine that you would find yourself fumbling for just the right phrase to capture the glory that is Corzine. What with record unemployment, the nation’s highest tax burden, yearly budget deficits, residents fleeing to other states, and corruption as far as the eye can see, you certainly have a lot to choose from.
Well, the first thing you would do is have your audience scripted to cheer “Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!” long enough to fill in the dead air. You probably would also stutter up a storm and litter your speech with a lot of ill-positioned dramatic pauses loosely connected by the many “uh” and “ah” sounds that smack of the eloquence that always eluded that Bush character. (If really in need of time, you could also read a portion of someone else’s speech and wait until AFTER you thank yourself before realizing it. That’s always a good ice-breaker.) If that doesn’t work, you can launch into another tiring rendition of “Are you fired up?” “Ready to go?” until the cows come home.
Once that authentic ululation dies down, however, you are going to need something to say. This weekend in New Jersey, President Obama found just the right message for our glorious leader: the buck stops with someone else. Perfecting the adolescent whine he’s so famous for, Obama launched into a woe-is-me rant worthy of Holden Caulfield:
“Listening to Jon’s opponent, you’d think New Jersey was the only state going through a tough time right now. I have something to report: We had the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. By the way, that didn’t start under Jon’s watch. That didn’t start under my watch. I wasn’t — I wasn’t sworn in yet.”
Sorry, wasn’t he brought in to talk about Jon Corzine? Why is he talking about himself?
So, Obama chooses to “fire up” the crowd with more crying about George Bush. More crying about how hard it is for him. No other president has ever governed under such a harsh scenario. Governing was a cake-walk for Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and the gang. He sure must be tired. If only John McCain spent 2008 campaigning by blaming everything on Jimmy Carter, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
The great Eeyore-in-chief continued, “You know, you got a little bit of revisionist history, a little selective memory going on, a little amnesia about how we got into this mess. This crisis that we are digging ourselves out of came about because of the same theories, the same lax regulation, the same trickle-down economics that the other guy’s party has been peddling for years.”
Perhaps he meant to say, “Now, for a little revisionist history…” The economic crisis had nothing to do with tax policy. Corrupt credit lending policies largely forced upon the private sector by liberal Democratic politicians in Washington? You betcha! Excessive government spending? Absolutely! However, none of the economic problems confronting America are due to people retaining too much of their own income.
In reality, the Bush tax cuts spurred economic growth. It wasn’t until Bush went over the cliff with the liberals on all the stimulus and over-spending euphoria gripping the menacing liberal overlords in Washington that things went all kinds of crazy. And President Bush tried repeatedly to stop the congress’ “risky schemes” where credit lending was concerned. And truthfully, the Obama fiscal policy is a continuation of the congress’ “risky schemes” plus the Bush fiscal policy on crack, minus the tax cuts.
Our esteemed leader went on further about how hard his life is: “Essentially, we don’t mind cleaning up after somebody else’s mess. Now, the one thing I’d say, though, is, if I’ve got the mop and I’m cleaning up after that mess, and Jon’s got the mop and he’s cleaning up after somebody else’s mess, the least these other folks can do is not stand there and say, ‘You’re not holding the mop the right way. You’re not mopping fast enough. You’re using a socialist mop.’”
Oh, so funny. Socialist mop! What a hoot. Of course, those accusing him of using a socialist mop, do so because he is singing songs of praise to Chavez and Mao as he works.
So, Obama and Corzine boldly declare that “the buck stops with someone else.”
That’s leadership, Obama style. What an inspiration! If only the Founding Fathers dithered in the face of British oppression and spent their days blaming the pilgrims for their problems instead of leading!
Leaders inspire. They accept challenges and meet them head on. Most of all, however, leaders don’t whine and they most certainly don’t blame all of their problems on someone else. Americans throughout our history have been inspired by people who show courage in the face of challenge and resolution in the face of adversity. Sniveling cry-babies don’t usually inspire folks (although they have been known to give them “thrills” up their legs as an objective assessment.)
At some point our president is going to have to man up and take responsibility. Yes, we get it, George Bush was a horrible monster that sought to kill us all. Even if, however, the wily cowboy from Texas burned the entire nation to the ground, it wouldn’t warrant the constant self-pity and school-girl like whining that emits from the mouth of the great scripted one every time he stutters, er, speaks.
His argument in defense of his own ineptitude and nefarious socialist dealings is weak enough. When you use it to defend a four year incumbent governor, who succeeded another four year Democratic governor, you then have to ignore 8 years of Democratic governance in order to blame the mess on someone else. Try that next time you get into trouble at work. Blame it on the person who held your job 8 years prior to you and see how that goes.
It’s absolute lunacy and cowardice for Corzine and Obama to suggest that they are not responsible for their own governing idiocy. Corzine’s inability to accept responsibility for running the state into the ground is just another fundamental reason to elect Chris Christie. Obama may be fired up and ready to go, but Corzine’s just going to be fired.
Fittingly, our epic failure of a govenor choose to close out his re-election campaign with the gritty image of the child-like Corzine clutching nervously to Obama’s hand as they cross the street. Manly toughness at its finest.
As New Jersey voters head to the polls tomorrow, they have a choice between the tough-as-nails and indeed “hefty” corruption-fighting Christie and the pathetic “blame everyone else for my problems” epic failure of Jon Corzine. The contrast is stark. The stakes are high. Tomorrow, New Jersey residents have a rendezvous with destiny. Let’s hope they keep it.
