The morning news was abuzz with video of President Obama’s reactions to accusations that his “stimulus bill” is just a pork spending bill: “What do you think a stimulus is? That’s the whole point.”
That’s refreshing honesty, and it would have been nice to hear the same candor last year when he promised to work with Democrats, Republicans, and independents. Though there have been attempts by moderate Senators from both parties to reach across the aisle, Obama’s team of die-hards see no reason to engage in such niceties.
This may be a departure from campaign rhetoric, but it is consistent with Obama’s “I won, you lost, I make the rules” brand of “cooperation”over the last two weeks. Despite the misgivings of fiscally responsible Democrats, he has a big enough cadre of his own team behind him and eager to push out a bill. “Has bipartisanship been a failure? So far it isn’t working,” claimed Chuck Schumer. The left has enough votes that they don’t need moderates and conservatives.
Obama remarked last night that the American people didn’t vote for “petty politics.” It sounds like we’re getting that anyway.
Jim Eltringham 