Battlefied: Capital Hill

What a week for President Obama. He is beginning to find out that being President of the United States is very much different than campaigning to actually become the President of the United States. That may explain why Obama is hitting the campaign trail to muster support for the stimulus package. And it does appear that he is learning on the job, much like his vice president and secretary of state claimed that he would have to do. I do hope that people will remember that he has inherited a mess and that he hasn't been in office very long yet. He needs our prayers and he needs the citizens to be fair in their assessment of his actions thus far. Granted, many still have major concerns about President Obama's policies, myself included. But in all fairness, he must be given time to do the job. Even though he campaigned as if he would have all of the mess fixed in a week or two, the reality is that it is a very difficult job that requires some time... And our biggest concern should be our congress at the moment.

And the biggest issue that congress is working on is the stimulus package. While Obama is campaigning for a plan that he did very of the actual work on, reminiscent of his days as a senator, congress is back to business as usual of their pork barrel politics and spending. We had hoped that Obama would keep this campaign promise to lessen the nonsensical spending, we are finding the truth to be that congress holds the real power. The president is more responsible for setting a tone and communicating to the people, something I think that he will do well on his campaign for this economic stimulus package. And I think that President Obama should receive high marks for communicating with the people. Whether or not you agree with his policies, it is refreshing to see our president talking to the people, especially after we tolerated Bush hiding his head in the sand for three years.

It is disappointing, in a sense, to see that Obama passed the buck on the stimulus package. He campaigned with a promise and a plan of his own that was second to none. But I guess he was overwhelmed or something and he passed the majority of the writing of this package to the congress. Proof is the section of the bill that allocates $50million to habitat restoration in San Francisco, ala Nancy Pelosi and the large amount of money earmarked for improvement to the casinos and airports in Las Vegas, ala Harry Reid.

So we can forget the promise of less pork. I haven't read the entire bill but have seen some it. There is an exemption for companies that make recreational boats longer than sixty five feet. There is a provision that lifts Medicare regulations for only three long term care hospitals in the U.S. There is a section that wishes that $198 million of the taxpayers money goes to Filipino veterans of World War Two, of which the vast majority live outside of the United States. I agree that we should honor those who fought with us in our wars and that we should be true to our commitments, but in an economic stimulus package? This package is mostly spending that the Democrats have been trying to get passed for some time, not economic stimulus. And this is not economic stimulus in as much as it is a test of muscle in our congress. It is an, "I told you we would get this passed even if it took a hundred years" kind of thing instead of a plan to help the people who's money they are playing with. This is the same old politics.

But before I go further, it is of interest that the GOP is bucking this package so heavily. I guess that they want to show us that they have now discovered fiscal responsibility. After the brilliant economic plan of Hank Paulson and Bush, where no one knows what happened to the billions of dollars, the Republicans now want to be responsible. They now want to be the party that cares. They want to pretend that they have a real plan now...This is the same old politics. People voting party lines because they are party lines. Politicians drinking the kool aid and telling the American people that they have a plan and that they are our hope...The politics of pull...

It is no wonder that this economic stimulus package is popular with only about one third of Americans. There is no trust of our elected officials' and they have given few people very little reason to trust. This is why it is important for the President to go to the people. This is why I am glad that Obama is going out on the campaign trail again. I am absolutely against another bailout and disagree with an economic stimulus package that has anything other than economic stimulus. But at least our president is trying to set a tone for the nation instead of imitating an ostrich.

And we need to remember that our most imminent threat is our congress. We need to be active in our letters to our officials and we need to let our voices be heard. And if we do live in a democracy, then no bill that only has 33% of the approval of the American people can be passed; and that for congress to pass such package shows that the struggle and desire for power is greater than the struggle and desire to serve the citizens. It shows the arrogance of a group of elite who believe they are above the majority's intelligence. Capital Hill is the battlefield of a greater war than we may recognize.