With New Heart Pump, Cheney Slowly Resumes Old Life – NYTimes.com

So, this is just another great story. A thinner Dick Cheney out hunting and rousing up the Republican stalwarts to defeat all-things Obama. Although I do not wish any significant ill-will towards Mr. Cheney, maybe someone can regulate his blood flow with his heart pump so that he gets tired more easily and does not open his mouth as much. Just what we need – Dick Cheney – blathering about what is wrong with the current administration while trying to remind everyone what great things he (and Dubya) did all of those years. But of course, how easily we have forgotten those great things! Interestingly, he will soon visit Texas to enjoy a party hosted by the emir of Kuwait – a party that will celebrate the ousting of Saddam Hussein from the oil-rich emirate. That ousting was rather spectacular, but what did it gain the world?

Oh, and I would LOVE to hear about expansive insurance coverage that Mr. Cheney receives for all of this medical care – although I do realize that his great service to this nation affords him that more than others. Right?

With New Heart Pump, Cheney Slowly Resumes Old Life – NYTimes.com.

The Obama Inheritance – The Bush Years Just Keep on Giving

Would you accept an inheritance today that would cripple you with taxes and debt next year? Or an inheritance that would constantly remind you about how bad things can get? Depends, I suppose, on your view of the ultimate value of that inheritance, but you would certainly not relish the idea. Any hesitation in accepting the inheritance would be understandable especially if those around you sought your failure to successfully re-invest the inheritance.

Such is Obama’s dilemma. This is not new news….it was clear in January 2009 (and before) that Mr. Obama was taking on a significant challenge. Any number of news articles articulated this challenge, and books were hot off the presses which enumerated the effort that would be required to turn things around. George W. Bush left President Obama a mess – the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, the budget, foreign policy…the list goes on.

But what is different in late 2010, now that Mr. Obama has had almost two years to fix things? If you focused your attention on the newsstands only, you would think that nothing has improved. The debt and deficits are out of control. Unemployment is still too high. We are struggling in terms of a respected foreign policy. We cannot even win the Olympics or the World Cup. Certainly there are positive highlights out there; the economy appears to be – ever so slowly – turning around, GM has re-issued its stock, Iraq is moving in the right direction, Afghanistan is still a possible success, health care is improving, etc.

However, what is really most notable is that – despite the challenges confronted, and Mr. Obama’s vigorous response to them – he really has very little chance to succeed. The very politicians who bequeathed him the American inheritance in the first place are the same people who are making it difficult for him to make the necessary improvements. Imagine that? The Republicans gave Mr. Obama a declining inheritance, but they actively are preventing Mr. Obama from taking the necessary steps to make the inheritance worthwhile. So, the giver continues to give!

The Bush inheritance has given Mr. Obama a United States of lower stature around the world, and yet the Republicans claim that the President is wrong to qualify “American exceptionalism.” Why must we say we are better than everyone else? It is time to realize that we are part of a broader and inter-connected world. Listen to the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

The Bush inheritance has given Mr. Obama the worst deficits and debt in American history, and yet the Republicans are whining that the President is trying to “cut” the taxes of the upper-middle class in this country, the people who supposedly drive American growth. If taxes were the substantial engine that drove growth, then how is it that we lost so many jobs in the last five years with those taxes so low?? Give me and the rest of America a break. Make some economically conservative choices. Otherwise get the hell out of the way so that we can start to make tough choices.

The Bush inheritance gave Mr. Obama Iraq and Afghanistan, and yet the Republicans use Mr. Obama’s tough decisions in these arenas as a platform from which to question his moxie and commitment to US armed forces. Let the guy lead. Let him listen to the military. He is C-in-C. Deal with it.

Mr. Boehner, McConnell and the rest of you…..the country is a mess. Mr. Obama inherited the mess. He did not create it. Work with him to fix it or get out of the way. But, then again, that’s your plan, isn’t it? Use the very inheritance to bring him down – and let the Bush gift just keep on giving.

Where Were You Ten Years Ago?

I was in Florida. I did not travel there to steal the presidential election like many Republicans did; I lived there. In 2000, my family and I lived in Orange Park, Florida, near Jacksonville. I cast my ballot in Clay County, one of many Republican strongholds in the state. Aside from the nearby naval air station, Clay County was pretty rural and very redneck. I was probably one of the few Democratic votes, but cast that vote proudly…I distinctly remember that the lines were very long that day, but things were very organized. Oddly enough, even though Clay County was a bit old-fashioned, the commissioners had obtained optical scanners to read our ballots, so we had none of the “hanging chad” issues that bedeviled other counties in the state. My vote was counted.

The infamous story is well-known. Miami’s Dade County. Al Gore’s retrieval of his concession to Bush. The Republican operatives descending upon the state to spread false claims of voter “fraud.” The lawsuit by the Bush campaign that started it all. The valiant but mis-guided attempt by the Democrats to argue for a selective recount across the state. The decision by the Republican-leaning Supreme Court that – literally – changed history. Wow, those were some tense days. Even then, the Democrats across the country had an inkling that the Supreme Court decision was going to change us – and we were right.

If only Miami’s Dade County had optical scanners. Better yet, if only Gore had won his home state of Tennessee. We never would have heard about hanging chads or the Electoral College, and we would have never known that a part of Florida is actually in the Central time zone. Oh, and we never would have had Bush. Yes, your vote matters, and elections do change history.