There are those among us, who for the past several weeks have tried, ever so desperately, lamely and ultimately in vain, to make the argument that President Obama’s main motive in the debt ceiling debate is that: “the president was more interested in politics than actually submitting a budget which deals with the debt.” Ironically all of this is presented in contrast to a cascade of news that reveals just the opposite, including Mr. Obama’s nationally televised address of 25 July.
What strikes the prudent and educated observer of current American politics as being rather odd about this desperate paroxysm of anti-Obama rant is the degree to which the Tea Party claque in the House of Representatives remains unscathed by the criticisms leveled at those who are “more interested in politics” than in doing what’s right for the country. The larger absurdity of the entire argument is the fact that by admitting that even Barack Obama engages in political maneuvering somehow legitimizes the self delusion that his critics have “been right all along” about both the President and his “modus operandi” in the political arena. That being said, all of this begs the larger question: If Barack Obama is acting in line with the wishes of the majority of the American people, then is it legitimate to label his actions as being “more interested in politics” then otherwise? Likewise, if the Tea Party claque on Capitol Hill is deliberately acting to undermine the desires of the American people then why are they held harmless from the scathing critique reserved for those who are “more interested in politics than actually submitting a budget which deals with the debt” After all it is in fact they who have more than amply exhibited the aforementioned shortcomings of being more interested in politics than actually submitting a budget which deals with the debt and that in stark contrast to the actions exhibited by Barack Obama.
Consider the latest poll on this very subject: “Americans Back Mixed Solution for Debt Crisis”: Reuters/Ipsos poll”; http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/26/us-usa-debt-ipsos-idUSTRE76P5Q220110726 The findings of the poll are as follows: “Americans overwhelmingly are concerned about the U.S. debt crisis and a majority backs the type of compromise pushed by President Barack Obama. The poll found that 56 percent of Americans want to see a combination of government spending cuts and tax increases included in a deal to bring down the U.S. budget deficit and permit a vote to raise the country’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.” Moreover with regards to deep cuts to social programs, the poll shows: “19 percent said the best approach is only to cut existing programs.” When it comes to affixing blame it’s not Barack Obama but the G.O.P. that comes out on the losing end. To wit: “The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 31 percent of respondents held Republican lawmakers responsible for the debt impasse, 21 percent blamed Obama and 9 percent blamed Democratic lawmakers. Along those lines, 29 percent said Republican lawmakers should give the most ground in the negotiations, a quarter said Obama should and a fifth said Democrats should.” Moreover, if you had been tuned into MSNBC’s post speech coverage on the night of 25 July, you would have seen commentator Lawrence O’Donnell reiterate to a Tea Party backed congressman the fact that the preponderance of polling favored Obama’s approach and not his, a fact that left the Tea Partier at a loss in the way of a comeback.
So in the final analysis wasn’t it more than a bit absurd and hypocritical to label Barak Obama as the primary antagonist in the debt ceiling drama when it is in fact the Tea Party backed Republicans on Capitol Hill who were recklessly driving America towards the abyss of default? I think that, judging from the facts which have obtained over the past few months, the absurdity of this hypocrisy is more than evident and it’s high time that the citizens of this country call the reckless to account.
SJG
Please share widely!
