Election Day!

[luke warm]

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.

i've always thought this to be a very witty quote, although the use of the word "foolish" is its only saving grace (and even that is subject to debate)

[kenberg]

i've always thought this to be a very witty quote, although the use of the word "foolish" is its only saving grace (and even that is subject to debate)

 

 

I agree entirely, and only object to a couple of your points.

[luke warm]

lol

[PassedOut]

Sometimes doing the right thing comes with a heavy political cost.

 

In 1994 Clinton's insistence on restoring fiscal responsiblility -- over the unanimous opposition of the republicans -- cost his party the congress. But the result was a huge gain for the country while he held office.

 

Now Obama's party has lost the House of Representatives, but the 111th Congress accomplished a lot in two years:

 

1. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

2. Children's Health Insurance Program Extension

3. Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act

4. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

5. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

6. Unemployent Compensation Extension

7. Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

8. New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia

9. Health Care for 9/11 Responders

 

I very much wish that Obama had been able to to hold off the tax cut extensions demanded by his fiscally irresponsible opponents. And restoring fiscal responsiblity over tough opposition will certainly have to be his big fight over the next two years.

 

But the way the lame duck session turned out, I (reluctantly) suppose Gail Collins is right: Lame Ducks Triumphant

 

But let’s admit it. Nothing would have gotten done if Obama hadn’t swallowed that loathsome compromise on tax cuts for the wealthy.

 

If he’d taken the high road, Congress would be in a holiday war. The long-term unemployed would be staggering into the new year without benefits. The rest of the world would look upon the United States as a country so dysfunctional that it can’t even ratify a treaty to help keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. The people who worked at ground zero would still be uncertain about their future, and our gay and lesbian soldiers would still be living in fear.

 

It’s depressing to think that there was no way to win that would not have involved giving away billions of dollars to people who don’t need it. But it’s kind of cheery to think we have a president who actually does know what he’s doing.

Maybe so. But it's essential to get tax revenues and expenditures in line as soon as possible. And the free lunch crowd will fight that tooth and nail in the months and years ahead.

 

It took Clinton six years to completely reverse the fiscal irresponsibility of the Reagan-Bush years, but it only took Bush the younger six months to put the country back in the hole. It will likely take Obama six more years to fix it.