Hard Times - Lessons from a spendthrift Congress and its President

For some time, we have lamented the decision to bail out GM. A small thing in the scheme of this President's efforts to right the US ship soon after becoming its Captain. But a huge thing in the minds of many.

There are so many incredible things that have hurt America as we know it. But the biggest one of all may be the failure of most of its Presidents ever to know hard times. And of all those rich, incredibly talented people who have shared the platform as our country's speaker the most dangerous fiscally is the one in the White House at this time in history.

He has never known hard times. Sure, he lost his mother, had a father who went missing, and experienced so much of what has become the American experience. But, unlike Clinton and any other president, this one has been the beneficiary of the public dole. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the shift of fortunes that has as its telling watermark the New Jersey governor race and perhaps, as Rove has said, the recent races in Pennsylvania.

While we may be inclined to mark this as the turning point for this President, we have no doubt but that he can still right this ship. But it is becoming too late for him to resurrect Congress. He can turn the ship toward more peaceful waters only by taking several important steps, including the following.

An Interview With Fox News

The President needs to take on Fox News. This of course is incredibly dangerous. If he shows himself to be a liar, the wake left will far exceed his "I did not hear him ever say" defense of Reverend Wright and his failure sharply to separate himself from "the Clintons are racists" crowd. But the failure to treat Fox News as a news organization, and his personal attack on Fox News, is an unprecedented attack on free speech. Plain and simple. And above all, we value free speech.

Why is this vital? Because he can begin to show that he is indeed fiscally conservative by announcing the following important real change to America, about which he can say he was wrong.

End the Afghanistan War

The "war" in Afghanistan is a horrible mistake. Indeed, the "war" on terrorism was a mistake. There is the temptation to say that bringing all those terrorists into Iraq was a good idea. But there is little evidence that this has done much to dent terrorism as it is defined by the US. Indeed, "terrorism" is so overreaching that we need to redefine it. A start of that process would be to end the last "war" with a country designation and to get the troops and US out of the Middle East.

Cut Military Spending in Half

The military industrial complex has had its way since Eisenhower. It has swaggered into our lives to the point that it is downright unpatriotic to dissent from wars and perhaps terrorism to suggest its might should be curtailed. Why?

This one is hard to see. Perhaps it is the money involved, which can help in the short term. And, has been proven for decades, for the longer term as long as we are willing to pay taxes for it.

Does our military have a real purpose? Indeed, what does our military do?

Veto Health Care Bill

Obama shows weakness above all. His desire to be reelected has cost him considerably so far. Unlike Bush, whose election itself was in question and who never let reelection affect his decisions, Obama is entirely reelection oriented. As a consequence, more Democrats will vote Republican or Independent in 2010.

To save this position, Obama cannot base his future on health care. And he should veto it, and say he will, unless it has a public option. If you think about this, it would have very beneficial implications for 2010 if he does this.

Stop Lying

Yes, many claim he lies and base this on what many say are not lies. Who cares? The public. A lie is something that is a half-truth, with Obama the master of this double-speak nonsense that does not fool Americans.

Obama has to reject his inclination to be a politician, distance himself from Congress, and do this in a very straightforward manner. And this cannot be based on the false claim of trying to be bi-partisan. Forget it. He is no bi-partisan and he does not have to be.