I have a little mental exercise for anyone who's still thinking of backing the president over the latest tax cut agreement. Read it over and ask yourself "Do I support this"?
President John McCain, with assistance from the republicans in congress, has released a bill that would extend all Bush Tax cuts for 2 years and create a tax "holiday" for social security. President McCain had harsh words for liberal critics who claim the country can ill afford to maintain tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and who claim that the Social Security tax holiday is intended to starve the popular program of funds as a way of diminishing or eventually eliminating the program that provides for millions of seniors and disabled Americans. McCain called the criticism "irresponsible" that during such hard economic times we must rally together to improve the situations of working Americans.
Do you support this?
I am going to assume your answer is no, but if it's Yes I would REALLY love to hear the rational.
While talking to some people who claim to "support Obama" there is an underlying theme. That this policy is good, becuase it's coming from Obama. People who are angry or upset or who do not support the tax cut agreement are being accused of being "anti-Obama" or are called "Obama haters" as a means of deflecting criticism and, I think, protect their view of the president.
This is not about Obama. This is about a bad policy. It was bad when Bush proposed it. It would be bad if "President McCain" proposed it. It's bad now that Obama is proposing it. It feels like betrayal because Obama is supporting it but we are not criticising to undermine him. We are trying to prevent him from doing something REALLY bad.
I remember in the run up to the Iraq war when France was trying to talk the US out of it, and there was this news broadcast showing the response to that. Freedom fries, people pouring French wine down storm drains, calls to boycott France. The segment ended with a simple question: Is a friend someone who just agrees with you? Or is a friend someone who tries to keep you from making a mistake?
For all this frustration and Angst over Obama, what's being lost is that we have not "unfriended" him. We are trying to keep him from making a really bad mistake. And we're getting hell for it.
So remember that next time you feel the urge to throw the "anti-Obama" or "Obama hater" label around. We want him to succeed. We need him to succeed. And we know he will NOT succeed if he continues down this road.