Obama and his stimulus plan - on the idea of a fiscal Hail Mary to try and slow the decline, I guess I can see the point of that, although there are appealing arguments around that seem to suggest that in the long run, as regards burgeoning debt, will do more harm than good, especially if the plan is flawed, which, to an uninitiated outsider, this one seems to be - but then that's [one of] the problem[s]: subject too complicated to allow for much comment from non-specialists - and when you consider the specialists themselves seem flummoxed - well - although some of the flaws seem so obvious as to give any somewhat rational person pause - and then regardless of the merits they've done such a piss poor job of selling it - people are being left with the notion that the plan can or will rescue the economy which it most assuredly will not - merely a palliative - the real cure lies with daunting tasks of fixing the banks and securing the housing market [if I imagine myself understanding what I think I'm reading].
But I'm more struck by Obama's attitude and what maybe is being revealed - ie, one, that his show of centrism is a bluff and that he is in fact a lefty; two, that he seems sincerely pissed off that republicans are making life difficult for him and this possibly reveals a truth regarding his ego and its fragility; and three, that he is so willing to own this plan - given that its eventual efficacy is very much in doubt, the smart play seems to be to allow the republicans their two cents - just a rookie mistake or again does it say something about his character? That he started out making soothing sounds of bipartisanship re getting the plan passed and now has resorted to shows of outrage and the making of threats which foolishly suggest we're all doomed if this plan isn't passed forthwith - well, interesting turn, no? Geez, if I didn't know better I'd say it looked like he was engaging in partisan politics at its cynical worst [best?] - not that I ever bought his whole new world order yes we can we're all in this together crap - guess I'm just a little surprised that the veil has fallen so quickly.
