I’m seeing that apparently quite a few “liberals” are annoyed at President-elect Obama for…something or other. Now, I consider myself a good liberal, and I’m not annoyed at Obama. Not really. I mean, I would have liked for him to win another hundred or so Electoral votes, and I’d like him to stop smoking, and I’d like him to denounce California’s Prop 8, but that’s about it. His cabinet? I’m fine with it. His White House staff and advisers? I’m fine with them. His national security team? Yeah, I’m fine with them, too. I guess I’m not much of a liberal, or maybe it’s just that I’m willing to realize that Obama isn’t exactly like me in every respect and therefore isn’t going to decide everything in the exact way I would and that’s probably fine because there are probably lots of issues on which he‘s right and I am full of bird poop.
(I wonder what Obama thinks of the Prequel Trilogy?)
On another note, the other day John Scalzi discussed the small upward trend in George W. Bush’s approval numbers, in which he’s gone from 24% approval to 28%. John says:
I can certainly believe it; I mean, now that I know he’s on the way out, he doesn’t cause me nearly as much intestinal distress as he has over the last several years. This is not exactly the same as getting my approval, mind you. But his not actively pinging the disapproval centers of my brain is an uptick.
Maybe, but I’d say that Bush, while not actively pinging the disapproval center of my brain by doing stuff that pisses me off, is now inactively pinging the disapproval center of my brain by basically sitting around and not doing anything at all except buying a new house in a super-rich, super-white suburb of Dallas. Things are falling apart all over and the new guy doesn’t take over for more than a month, but hey, we can totally wait for the person who holds the office of President to actually do something. Rome’s burning, and Nero’s a-fiddlin’ away.
January 20: not soon enough.
Share This Post
Discover more from ForgottenStars.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I think any grumbling we’re hearing from liberal quarters is coming from a subset of libs who seemed to unrealistically believe Obama would immediately set about fulfilling every frustration-fueled fantasy they’ve had over the past 8 years: announcing that Bush and Cheney would be clapped in irons immediately after Obama takes his oath of office, overturning all Republican policies, and transforming our tarnished empire as a glorious worker’s paradise within the first 100 days. The fact that he is instead appointing Clinton-era advisers and known moderates, including some Bush-era appointees, and seems intent on resisting calls for vengeance has those particular libs feeling like they’ve been suckered.
Me, I think he’s making smart choices for his cabinet and is pragmatic enough to know what can and cannot be accomplished. I’m still very positive about the new president. In fact, I’m probably even more impressed with him for sticking (so far) to his promises of reforming partisan rancor (I don’t think I could resist some retaliatory gestures myself) and playing what seems to be very smart politics.
And of course, the man hasn’t even been sworn in yet. It’s too early for anyone to be grumbling about his performance on a job he hasn’t yet assumed…
As for your thoughts on Bush, ditto.