Day 3 (or is it 4?) of the "wardrobe scandal"

I’m not sure if this is the third or fourth day of stories at the beginning of Good Morning America focusing on Sarah Palin’s wardrobe.

 

Hhhmm…

 

If bringing up Barack Obama’s association with known terrorists, convicted criminals, lack of legislative record, and long, long time association with a radical preacher is a distraction from the real issues, then…  um…  wouldn’t a nearly weeklong focus on the Republican National Committee’s decision to outfit a Vice Presidential candidate also be a distraction from the real issues?

 

I guess the moral of the story is that it’s ok to distract from real issues and cover frivolous crap when it’s the other guys, but don’t look into any history or background on the junior senator.

 

This kid may just win this thing.  It’s hard to tell what the mood is in Ohio when the reporting from all sectors is so ridiculously biased away from reality.  And truth be told, I don’t think Obama would be a particularly bad President, per se.  The last time we had a dangerously inexperienced President with a compliant congress and a strongly partisan Vice President things looked destined to have a change in control in congress after only 2 years and unless something changed in the way the President governed, a change in President 2 years later.

 

But then there were the terrorist attacks of 2001, and congress stayed in the hands of the one party and the incumbent won another 4 year term.

 

The time before that when we had an inexperienced President (though far, far more experienced than the current contender) and a strongly partisan Vice President with a compliant congress we received a big, fat tax increase that was jammed down our throat by a congress that was promptly voted out of office and at least one congressman saying “sometimes you have to make decisions that are unpopular to your constituents” (he lost his job).  With the change in control of congress that President became a very good President who had to lead with moderated policies and reasonable objectives.  Hell, we even managed to not only balance the budget, but somehow hold spending back enough to allow those massive tax increases to generate surpluses.  Sure, policies were enacted that created other problems toward the end of the game, but if we were able to keep that split government in place we just might have been able to address them and prevent catastrophe.

 

But, alas, the partisan bickering and brinksmanship outweighed good legislative leadership and a lame duck President was marginalized by an increasingly partisan congress and we have what we got.

 

No, an Obama Presidency likely won’t be much different from a McCain Presidency over the long run.  But an Obama Presidency with a highly partisan and compliant congress that is only too ready to push through …  well, whatever Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid want to push through…  that may be a bad thing.  [if a tax hike for over $250,000 is good, a tax hike for over $125,000 is twice as good!!]  McCain, at least, would push back against the congress and, at the very least, require them to use the veto/filibuster proof majority if they get it.

 

Judging by the exceptionally low approval rating congress has right now, though, the dystopian future of Nancy and Harry running Berry’s administration may be very, very short lived, and I don’t think they can do TOO much damage in 2 years.