Obama does some good, some bad By Oren M. Spiegler
In observing the actions of President Barack Obama thus far, a reasonable and even-handed analyst can only conclude that his brief and very active presidency has been a mixed bag. While I did not and could not vote for Mr. Obama for fiscal reasons, I like him and welcomed the change from the administration of President George W. Bush, one which engaged us in a devastating, misguided, unjustified war in Iraq that has done more to damage this nation and its reputation and prestige than any action within my lifetime.
The Bush administration justifiably came across to the world as arrogant, ignorant, and incompetent, never recovering from its having set an ugly tone through challenging our enemies to “bring it on.”
The moment Barack Obama set foot in the White House as president, the tenor of international relations changed and our nation was placed on a firmer footing throughout the world. It is my hope that President Obama’s anxiousness to cement relationships with allies and to form new ones will not be seen as weakness that is taken advantage of and works to the detriment of the United States.
On the domestic front, the president has thus far been an unmitigated disaster. He has cited the recklessness of his predecessor as an excuse for unprecedented, massive spending sprees encompassing every facet of our lives. His latest journey into the irresponsible is his scheme to spend $13 to $14 billion to provide $250 checks to seniors in order to soothe their hurt feelings over not receiving a cost of living increase in their 2010 benefits.
They, of course, are not slated to receive a cost-of-living increase because the cost of living declined over the past year! Certainly there are needy seniors who would welcome a check, but there are needy individuals in all age groups, including many who are not able to provide for the families who are dependent upon them. Where does federal largesse end?
One of the reasons that President Obama was elected was his specific, solemn, and oft-repeated pledge that he would not increase taxes one dime on families whose annual incomes were under $250,000.
The only question now is when he will break that promise. He and the Congress certainly are not going to agree to enormous spending cuts, thus there is no way to reduce our crushing debt than to pursue the all-too familiar and deleterious path of punishing the hard-working middle-class.
If I could have my druthers in today’s climate, the United States would have one president devoted to foreign policy, another assigned to domestic policy, and the domestic specialist would be a fiscally-conservative and prudent economic expert, someone who is insulated from politics, and who would put our country on a strict diet, bringing spending in line with revenue immediately so that the national debt does not soar beyond its current level of an eye-popping $12 trillion.
The days of looking to Uncle Sam as the provider of first resort cannot continue. Actions speak louder than words; our president’s actions reflect a man who does not recognize this reality.
Oren Spiegler is a resident of Upper St. Clair Township, near Pittsburgh.