Change?

Change: To put or take a thing in place of something else; to substitute for, replace with, or transfer to another of a similar kind. To cause to become different. to undergo alteration or replacement.

I had to go to an Internet dictionary to discover what change was. I have heard the word used alot. But the meaning had escaped me; or at least the definition didn't match the concept that I had in my own mind.

President elect, Barak Obama promised change. He ran a campaign on change. He spread his version of populism to the people citing that it was time to change government. He pointed fingers at not only John McCain, but all of Washington and said that government was the problem with our country and he then went on to promise change. Anyone with governmential ties in the past was considered poison. His campaign was ran brilliantly; and he made everyone believe the lie that John McCain and Sarah Palin were Bush/Cheney. Despite the fact that McCain only voted with the republican party 86% of the time. He had a lot of media help in many regards and instances, but Obama painted the picture that it is imperative that we get fresh blood in Washington D.C. Out with the old and in with the new. We need a revolution. The American people want something new.

And I agree with him in the sense that we need fresh blood and new ideas. I don't agree with the comparison of McCain to Bush, but that is another topic. But we do need change. Our government doesn't seem to represent most of us anymore. Mr. Obama was correct in his assertion and I have been hoping that I was wrong about him, and that he would bring change; real change in Washington.

But I was very skeptical. I think he received too many free passes from the media and he used the Jedi mind trick on most Americans. When asked about his past ties and those who were influential in his life, he flip-flopped, then looked into the camera and said that everyone was wrong about him and his judgement; and people were just like the storm trooper outside the bar in Star Wars, "Maybe he's right after all. He did say it on t.v. It must be true..."

And now my skepticism has grown. After all of the months of change and promise and hope and Jedi mind tricks, look at what change is laying in the winds here:

Lets begin with the obvious, Hillary Clinton. Is this change? Did he not say that we don't need to return to Clintonian politics during the election year? Did he not lump Hilary to "old government". Didn't he not so subtly suggest that she was not change? And now she's secretary of state? Is this change? I don't think so. Is it political, yes. Did Obama try to tell us that he wasn't a politician? Maybe the 3AM phone call campaign that Hilary ran affected him. While not quite a Jedi mind trick, it was still effective.

And not only did he break his word on old government and not returning to the Clinton years by hiring(this was no appointment) half of the Clinton brain trust, he continued to hire old Clinton staff. His transition chief, John Podesta was the former chief of staff to the Clinton's. Greg Craig, who is now on the White House counsel, was Bill Clinton's impeachment lawyer. And I'm sure no one wants to look back at that black eye on the presidency ordeal. We all know that Rahm Emanuel is the new chief of staff and was the former Senior Advisor to the Clinton's.

How about Eric Holder and all of his baggage. And ineptness. And lack of ethics. He was the former deputy Attorney General. And now he and his garbage are the new Attorney General. How some people get a promotion is beyond me.

Tom Daschle is the new health care reform person. And there is nothing new or healthy about good ole Tom.

Peter Orszag is the new budget director. He's not new or fresh. He's a rehash like many others. And let's remember that Obama's rhetoric made these people rehashes, not mine. You can use his words from 10 months ago to describe his new staff. You don't need me to find new words.

And how about the good ole boy from Wall Street, Timothy Geitner. He has served under 3 previous presidents. Is that new? And he has been in the Treasury Dept. for many years; a sector of government that Obama attacked as being lackluster and corrupt. He spared no one in his implications that all those in the governmental fiscal areas had to be changed and turned over. It was imperative that we get fresh blood, of the utmost importance to our battered economy.

And Larry Summers? He is the NEW Overseer of Economic Policy. The sad thing is that he is the OLD Overseer of Economic Policy from the Clinton administration. Hey wait! He didn't get a promotion.

Lastly for the blog but not for the appointments is Robert Gates as to remain on as Defense Secretary. Now even the most ardent, yellow-dog Obama supporter can not say that Obama didn't criticise the war effort and all of those involved. It was a major, but major, campaigning point. It was a hot button issue that Obama and his staff(or Hilary's staff) never passed on an opportunity to jab good old boy McCain and those who supported the war. And change in this area has came in the form of retaining the same old, worn out, out of touch, good old boy, war hawk previous Defense Secretary. And again, the label is not mine but President elect Obamas. That is what he implied when he wanted to win the election. That is what he accused when it suited his purpose.

So you can see why I had to look up the meaning of the word change. I wasn't fooled by the Jedi mind tricks, but I was confused by so many mismatched words and definitions. I may be a little simple, but i do remember reading that salt water and fresh water do not flow from the same fountain.

I do not think that Obama is the Anti-Christ or that he will be the end of the United States. I do not think that Barak Obama will be as bad as Jimmy Carter, even if I did think initially. The president elect has been very organized and very active. He has not hid his head in the sand like President Bush has, he has been seen and heard. that is very important to our country at the moment. But forgive me if I think that Barak Obama is insincere and under qualified. It may not be popular opinion, but Obama is appearing to be just another Chicago politician, another politico from the Windy City. And no Jedi mind trick or media bias will change the truth.

We know about lipstick on a pig and all of the other overblown "insults" or "descriptions" or "attacks" or whatever media-hyped, right-wing extreme nonsense you want to call it. But the truth is that even if you put a dress on a turd, it is still a turd. Actions speak louder than words and I personally have seen little action that resembles change. At least change as I understand the definition to be.

But what do I know?