Yes, the President does have a few victories to hang his hat on. However, just because their have been supposed victories for Obama they are not necessarily victories for Progress. Sadly, it seems as the very achieving of those victories were a defeat for progress. You see, even under this President as always it seems when compromise is achieved the only thing that is ever sacrificed is that very progress.

So now President Obama is basking in victory and serving notice to his opponents both Conservative and Progressive:

Buoyant in political victory, President Barack Obama on Wednesday wrapped up a long, rough year in Washington by rejoicing in a rare, bipartisan "season of progress" over tax cuts, national security and civil justice. Halfway through his term, he served notice to his skeptics: "I am persistent."

http://news.yahoo.com/...

And indeed the President has persevered through many things no President or American even should have to endure. For his grace under some of the ridiculous accusations made against him I can only offer admiration. A lesser person would have folded. He has shown resilience and persistence in many areas except the one we really needed, the persistence to fight the enemies of progress to the bitter end to bring change in more than baby steps, and even steps backwards.

But the President does have two major accomplishments today that I, even as a Progressive must admire:

Obama spoke on the same day that he found enough allies in both parties to get Senate ratification of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, a vote watched around the world as a test of international security and presidential clout. He also signed landmark legislation to allow gays to serve openly in the military, calling himself overwhelmed by the enormity of the moment.

The President should be commended for leading this country ahead in a post-Cold War Nuclear age. The treaty with the Russians was very good and may be his best accomplishment to date. He definately does deserve credit for his work on that. Also, beginning to end the persecution of gays in America is very commendable indeed. For far too long gays have been persecuted by many simply because they do not have big enough numbers to be a strong enough voting block to defend themselves. Let us hope that this is a beginning to the end of all institutionalized persecution of other Americans who quite frankly do not deserve it.

But the irony in the declaration of a "Season of Progress" comes not from these accomplishments but from others. You see, some of President Obama's "victories" were actually huge losses for our country:

And that was on top of other achievements, including a hard-fought deal to extend tax cuts and unemployment insurance even as it piled on more debt, a broad food security bill, a trade deal with South Korea and declarations of progress in the widening war in Afghanistan.

The tax cut deal was far from "progress". Unemployment benefits should have been enacted on their own no matter how long and bitter the fight againt the enemies of our country would have been. At a time when America desperately need to invest in her own country the damage of extending tax cuts we cannot afford to people that did not need them simply was not worth it. Why not invest in creating real jobs with that money?? These cuts will not create a single job and in fact reward the people who stagnated our wages, outsourced our jobs, crashed our economy and skyrocketed our debt for doing so. If these tax cuts were so essential after being in effect for ten years why does our country find itself in such a sorry predicament economically?? That does not even mention the fact that this "compromise" sought to weaken the funding for Social Security.

While the food security bill on the surface sounded really good, it took money from the food stamp program in which too many people now are forced to rely until the economy picks up. America is already reeling from bad trade deals and of course no amount of progress in Afghanistan is really worth it. It is time we came home and forgot about the idiocy began by the other party in the Dark Ages known as the Bush Administration. Continuing that failed vision is not progress, it is insanity.

With all that has NOT been accomplished in our country we are far from ever declaring victory or progress. We got a healthcare bill but it was watered down, without a public option, and basically a giveaway to health insurance companies. The financial reform bill fell far short of what was needed. We did not even address the fact that workers who want to unionize to join the middle-class are subject to threats, intimidation, and the loss of their jobs for doing so or the fact that propoganda can be spewed daily, unchecked and unchallenged to millions of people and presented as "news"

In fact, a new study has just shown us how little progress has really been made during this "season". Washington is business as usual and our government serves as a big slopping trough to the greediest and least patriotic among us as everyone else suffers. Unfortunately with most of the change we have seen for Progressives and working people everywhere the only hope we have left is to not see anymore of this kind of "change" which is really just more of the same.

And while the President has been persistent it seems that his only persistence has been asking those of us who elected him and those who are suffering most from the failed policies of the last few decades to keep sacrificing. We have yet to see him persist in fighting for us against the domestic enemies of our country who put their own welfare above our country and everyone else. Time and time again they are the only ones nobody, not even President Obama dares to persist in asking to sacrifice.

And unfortunately, the President's assesment for next year is just as horrifying as that of the great self-serving Satan, Mitch McConnell:

Obama underscored his agenda ahead, much of it amounting to unfinished promises: deficit reduction, energy innovation, immigration reform, the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison, education and research investments, and the biggest item of all: finding ways to create more jobs for millions of hurting Americans.

While many of these things sound good, the simple fact of the matter is that the measures that will be undertaken to achieve deficit reduction should scare the hell out of us all. Our government as a whole including the President have already shown they are completely unwilling to ask the elites of our country to sacrifice and deficit reduction as always will only be allowed to come from the poor, and middle-class two groups who simply have nothing left to give. With that being said it seems there will simply be no way for us ever to create jobs, fund education and research, or invest in the fuels of the future.

Maybe I am just too pessimistic. However, one theme keeps ringing true even in this "Season of Progress". Our country, and especially our elected leaders seem unwilling to do anything but take baby-steps and half measures to solve the myriad of problems average Americans face. Average Americans themselves seem too brainwashed by the media and the shiny object to really ever stand up and demand it. Although disgraced a former Presidential candidate really did have it right when he told us that there are two Americas, one for the wealthy elites and one for the rest of us.

Sadly, nothing in this season or any other seems to be changing that. Let us hope our President will persist in fighting to the bitter end for what he knows in his heart is truly best in the next season.