786. A brief thought on Obama
One of the things the Right doesn't understand is that the Left, of which I am a part, is nearly as upset with the president as they are. We feel he has compromised on almost every major issue. We feel he has coddled up with K Street lawyers and lobbyists and Wall Street bankers and con-men. We feel that he is far too centrist, just like most of the men (so far) which we have nominated going all the way back to at least Adlai Stevenson in 1952. But we are also confident that a bad centrist better is for the people of America than the men (so far) who have been offered as standard bearers of the GOP since Reagan. The Right has systematically lowered taxes over the last 35 years, making government less and less responsive to ourselves and our global neighbors. The lessening of civility is a direct result of Americans being less involved with their government than ever, both in the taxes they pay and in the rate they vote. There is a reason for this. Beginning with Reagan, we've been taught that government (which is America) is the problem and that rugged individualism is the solution. In that same time period of lessening taxes, the rich of our nation have gotten exponentially richer while the middle class and the poor have done the opposite. America is not the great country it once was. We lead in murders, we lack in education, and we argue over the pettiest of issues. Why? Because we have forgotten that we, America, are the "We the people" famously found in the Constitution. It isn't you and me and that one over there, but all of us collectively. I do not know if Reagan and his followers - Norquist, Gingrich, Phil Gramm, Romney, and others - have destroyed the Republic beyond repair. I personally believe they have although there are others in my party and on my side of the aisle who differ with me. Unfortunately I do not see too many people in either party doing much about it. I'll add, to close, two points. The scrolling at the end of the video is something that we each agree on. Finally, the last good liberal in the White House was Richard Nixon.