Walling from Afar
The unfortunate employment of the term “headache” makes it seem like Obama is getting “walled” as well.
I read that Obama’s domestic popularity is falling. I would think this is primarily because he is actually trying to fulfill his campaign promises on a reasonable time schedule. I mean, I don’t agree with the guy on most things, but you have to say he’s at least making some effort to follow through and cut some of the political inertia that seems to be content with waiting on hockey sticks out somewhere in the distant, unmapped future.
So this is why you don’t do this, traditionally, I suppose. You instead pull a Dubya and just sneak some bacon fat Medicare provision for seniors to win Florida in essentially the eleventh hour. You say you ran on “principles” and that’s what your mandate is based on. Carte blanche. We’ll reform something when the other guys take a hike.
Then again, maybe you “try” to get healthcare reform in place, etc., and then depend on the recency bias to wash memories of the failure in time for elections. If I were the aliens consorting with the Freemasons to run the country, that’s what I would do. Admit failure early and call for circuses with free bread toward the end of the first term. Subsidize post-immunization Dum-Dums or something. All would be forgiven.
This Cash for Clunkers business is a mess. A dealer was quoted to the effect of, “The government had no idea what goes on inside a car dealership.” Meaning they didn’t plan how they would get eleventy thousand reimbursement checks verified and cut in a number of weeks in a business that essentially breathes cash for its life. I’m telling you, this government doesn’t know how to spend money.