and carry a big stick.
I'm fixin' to go off on a rant here. Either disengage and hit another diary, or sit tight, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the bumpy ride.
It's been too long since we heard something concrete from President Obama. I know he's not a progressive candidate, even though I am a progressive activist and supporter. I gave him money and campaigned.
It's not that I feel used exactly, but I am starting to wonder: "Where's the beef?" Where's the Obama we saw on the campaign trail?
There seems to be an excuse for everything, every misstep, every capitulation, every extension of deadline. Yes, circumstances change. Yes, I am grateful to have an intelligent President who understands nuance and diplomacy, however there are plenty of things out there that do not, repeat DO NOT require nuance and diplomacy to G-E-T D-O-N-E.
- Fucking close Guantanamo yesterday! No brainer, and it would go a long way to helping restore peoples' trust and belief in this Administration. No delays, no secret deals. We close it, and deal with the fallout. We fucked this up, we clean it up. Period.
- Healthcare Reform. It doesn't require a filibuster proof 60 vote thing. I still don't understand why this is going on even when people like Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi have given a point by point blueprint of how we can do it without, using reconciliation, and other tactics. And please, don't tell me Rahm and the President can't twist a few arms with whatever they have to, to accomplish this. Both were baptized in political fire and can make this happen. We KNOW this. If they're not careful the delays might transfer into 'they don't seem to want to.' That would be political poison.
- Wall Street Reforms. Start being accountable for the bailout and where it is going. Demand full disclosure, demand full accountability. This is not an issue on which they can afford to be soft or weak. Many Americans DIDN'T EVEN WANT THE BAILOUT, and now people who should be profiting (Like Goldman Sachs). This is fucking ridiculous, a slap in the face after the various bonus debacles that plagued this Administration.
Don't even get me started on why he hired such corrupt fuckers as Larry Summers who knowingly contributed to this horrible mess:
"And although it's now pretty clear that Summers's deregulatory impulses as Treasury secretary had pretty gruesome consequences, it still reflects well on Summers -- a man of no small ego -- that he is willing to admit as much." Well, what other choice does Summers have, really?
Or how about Tim Geithner? He has allegiances to Goldman Sachs, can't seem to (shock, horror) get the banks to hold up their end of the deal and doesn't give a peep when Ken Lewis is set to retired with $53M. Honestly, at this point, Tim isn't the only one who's had enough. I've had enough, too.
There are so many resources, out there, from PBS' The Ascent of Money to Frontline's alway relevant and well done material on the collapse of the banking system, retirement, credit cards and the various ways in which working people have been systematically screwed over in the last 100 years.
It's impossible that President Obama and Mr. Emmanuel aren't aware of what's going on.
It's time to hear from the President, to have him outlay an understanding of these issues and re-commit to the American people who elected him and worry less about the fears of the financial sector, the insurance companies or the previous administration.
It's time for the President to speak UP and do the right thing.
Thanks for listening.