How Can Anyone Defend Obama?

I try to minimize my political discussions for a few reasons.  Generally they result in people becoming angry, they never accomplish anything and most people who want to argue politics don't understand basic science.  It has been said, that politics has nothing to do with science, but perhaps it should.  Especially since, in recent years, politics has been more and more about religion.  I'm not putting down any religion, I just believe making decisions based on faith, rather than reason is a recipe for disaster.  A quick example:  Reason says stepping in front of a speeding vehicle will probably kill you and perhaps others.  Faith says that God will protect you, unless your death serves a higher purpose.  Grab 10 friends and put it to the test.  We'll add up the score later.

For the current election cycle, most of the talk has been about the economy.  President Obama has not fixed the economy, the deficit keeps growing and millions are still out of work.  All true statements that mean almost nothing.  Millions are out of work, and there are also millions of jobs available.  While many require a college education, many require no prior experience or training.  They might require drug testing, they might pay less than what a person is used to making, they might even be strenuous and distasteful.  Yet, they are jobs.

The deficit and its rampant growth are more difficult problems, as is the economy.  Let us look at the economy first.  The economy is not a car, you can't just point it in a direction and choose your speed.  The economy is everything from the farmers in their fields to the CEO's in their corporate jets.  What percentage goes to defense?  How much to infrastructure (roads, bridges, electrical power grid, sanitation, etc.)?  How much to social services?  How much to self-support (government paychecks, perks, building maintenance)?  How much to advertising (also known as foreign policy)?  These are just some of the factors in areas the government has direct control over, and this is only a very small part of the economic picture.  In comparison, the deficit is rather simple, good budgeting decisions, plus a strong economy will shrink the deficit.  Good budgeting decisions with a weak economy is a different story.  Without a sound economy, the deficit problem can only get worse.

On October 29, 1929 a long period of speculative investing ended in disaster.  It took over 10 years and World War II to complete the recovery.  During the recovery the U.S. Government spent extravagantly on social programs and became the largest single employer, a position they hold today.  The social programs enacted at that time probably hurt the recovery more than they helped it.  What it seems they did provide was hope.  Food was available, work was available, Social Security was created.  People could begin to believe that better days were ahead, somewhere.

Fast forward 75 years and find yourself in the middle of another period of highly speculative investing and find many of the safeguards instituted after Black Tuesday, removed.  The crash should not have come as a surprise to anyone.  This time, instead of spending money on the people who had almost nothing to do with the problem, but suffered the worst, the money was spent to help the banks recover.  Probably not the best move.  "You killed your own children?  Why don't we help you open up a daycare?" 

Today, most seem to believe in magic.  All it takes is for the President of the United States to wave his magic wand (there is a Clinton joke in there somewhere) and everything gets better.  There is no magic wand (put it away Bill),  There is no quick fix for the economy.  It will, as it has every time in the past, recover slowly.  Please stop blaming President Obama (I use the title, because I believe anyone who holds the office deserves to be treated with respect) for not providing a quick fix for something that can not be fixed quickly.  Pick another subject.

Obamacare?  I despise the term.  It's meant to be derogatory and it blinds people to the facts.  You don't hear me calling the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Bushoween (it was enacted in October, think about it).  President Obama attempted to reform our healthcare system, something that needs to be done.  His initial proposal bears little resemblance to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The act bears much more resemblance to the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law than to anything else.  Does the President really deserve all the blame for this?

The whole birth certificate issue is just plain silly.  Bringing it into the debate casts a very big shadow on any other complaint about Obama's presidency.  At this point it has become irrelevant.  Find something substantial to complain about.  Maybe his stance on gays and lesbians, or on abortion.  Or, as I've heard recently, his religious beliefs.

I'm not normally a screamer (zipper related accidents are an exception), but the subject of the President's religious beliefs brings me close to that point.  I don't care if he goes to church, where he goes to church, how he prays.  If he's sacrificing live chickens in the rose garden I'm fine with that as long as they are his chickens.  Once he starts attempting to legislate his religion and force it on me, then I have a problem, even if his beliefs are exactly the same as my own.  Have your beliefs, enjoy them, let them bring you comfort, but if they figure into your voting decision, you're not qualified to vote and should refrain.

A significant issue in the Republican platform for the past 32 years, at least, has been abortion.  The current stance is that we need a Constitutional Amendment prohibiting all abortions, no exceptions.  No Exceptions!  Apply that to any law and see how it feels to you.  If you kill another person, you receive the death penalty, no exceptions.  If you commit adultery, you are stoned to death, no exceptions.  Exceptions are not much of an improvement.  Abortion is illegal except in cases of forcible rape.  Define forcible.  How much force is required to make it forcible rape?  What type of force?  Until the rapist is convicted, how can you prove forcible rape? And how long will it take a government to decide whether or not an abortion should be allowed because it meets the exception? Two months?  Two years?  While I disapprove of using abortion as retro-active birth control, I would rather allow that than place a government approved moral filter on medical decisions.

The government is too big and it continues to grow.  No matter who is President or which party controls Congress, the government will continue to grow.  Try putting your dog in charge of how much and how often food is available and you'll soon have a very fat dog.  Let your children plan the family meals and you'll see a lot of desserts and not many vegetables.  As long as the government is in charge of how much money they spend, the hole we are all asked to dig will get deeper.  Neither candidate can or will change that, so make your decision based on something other than pipe dreams.