My column of last week raised a few eyebrows for being overly pessimistic with respect to the President, Congress, the economy and the country’s future in general. I took that concern to heart and over the past weekend did what I usually do when I find myself overwhelmed and frustrated—I decided to consult with an expert to gain some insight into this political chaos.
In this case the expert is my nine-year-old daughter, known in the Velisek household as the “Pipsqueak.” Although she’s not yet a political pundit, she views the world in a very common sense manner, can detect bullshit in a heartbeat and is also very funny.
Turning on the weekend news talk shows, we started with President Obama’s showdown with the House Republicans in Baltimore last Friday. Personally, I thought this move by the White House—dragging these whiners from the sidelines out onto the field of play—was a stroke of genius. Much like Question Time in Great Britain , where Members of Parliament grill the Prime Minister, the President walked alone into the GOP lion’s den and performed superbly. This was the man I voted for two Novembers ago. Obama had a firm grasp of the facts, was articulate, witty and combative when he needed to be and appeared to relish the debate.
The Republicans initially appeared over-confident, but when the President didn’t follow the script they had written for him they soon looked unprepared, antagonistic and finally simply overmatched. Case in point is Big Government. Inexplicably, the House Republicans have forgotten the Bush Administration’s expansion of the government’s role in our lives, the increase in government size and expenditures and the Bush deficits. When reminded of this by Obama, the GOP audience appeared genuinely flummoxed.
My daughter’s first observation was that John Boehner looked “orange”—which was true. Her second was that all Republicans hate President Obama. This distinction with her is much the same as Red Sox fans hating the Yankees. Being a member of the GOP means you hate the president, which in her young, patriotic mind doesn’t make sense—Americans like their presidents. She also noted that Republicans were simply “crabby old men,” astutely noticing that Obama was the only one who smiled during the proceedings. A sense of humor is a big plus for my daughter.
Personally, I hope the President continues engaging his “friends across the aisle.” Besides erasing the smug smiles off the faces of folks like Eric Cantor and John Boehner, it forces the GOP to actually take a position. We know the Democrats do not have all the answers so any positive input of substance from the Republicans is not merely welcome, it’s necessary.
Pipsqueak and I then watched a snippet from a roundtable in which political webmistress Arianna Huffington and Roger Ailes—the head of Fox News—participated. Ailes’ performance confirmed why he and Richard Nixon were soul mates. After claiming he didn’t have time to read any of the negative press about him, Ailes then recited in detail a less than flattering description of him made by one of Huffington’s columnists, including his having a face like a fist and resembling J. Edgar Hoover. This was Roger the victim. Ailes then admitted Fox News was all about ratings and entertaining its audience. And then without missing a beat, he claimed his network was the most trusted news source in the nation. All this with a straight face, mind you. Taken aback by this hypocrisy, I looked to my daughter. Her pithy comment: “Who’s the dead guy?”
To cap off the weekend it appears that Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, he of the exploding underpants on Christmas Day, is singing like a bird while in custody—all this without water-boarding and within a month of his capture. Seemingly very good news since we should gain insight into not only how he was recruited and trained, but also the identity of other would-be terrorists. In this case, the system appears to be working.
Unfortunately some Republicans, starting with Maine Senator Susan Collins, aren’t happy. It’s unclear as to what exactly is the problem, except that maybe things are going too smoothly with the investigation. Abdul Mutallab is a grim reminder that Al Qaeda is still out there and plotting against this country. Senator Collins and her peers spreading fear is also a grim reminder of why the Bush Administration’s anti-terrorist tactics and strategies didn’t work. So although I’m not giddy with optimism, I do feel better—a nine year old’s perspective will do that for you.
Tuesday was Primary Day here in Illinois and since we’re the new Massachusetts , here’s a quick update. First, the outsider phenomenon we witnessed in Massachusetts is not a reality here in Illinois —for the simple reason there are no outsiders running. The big contests include the governor’s mansion vacated by Rod Blagojevich and President Obama’s old Senate seat, now held by Roland Burris.
As of this writing, both the Republican and Democratic contests for the governorship are too close to call. So close in fact, recounts may be in order for both. The Senate candidates have been decided—current State Treasurer Democrat Alexi Giannoulias versus current Congressman Republican Mark Kirk.
If you like your campaigns ugly, this one appears to be all that and more. Giannoulias has already targeted Kirk as a Washington insider, while Kirk has accused Giannoulias of having Mob ties that would “make Tony Soprano proud.” This occurred hours after the voting booths closed so stay tuned.
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