The Northwest Courant
Apologies to and dedicated in the memory of B. Franklin’s New-England Courant
“An irregular blog” by Paul B. Bader
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Thanksgiving 2009- What we all have to be thankful for. ___________________________________________________________

What’s wrong with a cool, thoughtful, articulate & optimistic president?

Why we all need to cut President Obama a break or why we are so lucky to be in America at the beginning of the 21st Century

Barack Obama is the Rodney Dangerfield of the present American political theatre: He just can’t get any respect.  It is just so much easier to criticize than to give support. The present state of affairs in American politics reminds us of Mario Cuomo’s quote, “that to campaign is poetry to govern is prose.”

The president of the United States is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Listening yesterday to Rush Limbaugh the great billowing tent of hate and his minions suggest the most inane garbage while simultaneously  shilling for the insurance death machine is simply amazing. And yet, we have so much to be thankful for in the first year of President Obama’s presidency already.

The world sees us differently now.

From my good friend Phil in the UK I received the following missive:

“The UK is worse placed than any other country in the Euro Zone because of our dim-wit of a PM.  We can’t wait for next May to sling him out on his ass.  Having said that; you guys must have been chuffed to bits to see Obama get in after that asshole Bush.  I know he’s getting some bad press over in the States right now but he’s pure gold on world stage and is repositioning the US reputation to where it deserves to be.  Louise and I really hope the Senate and the House of Representatives will stick with him so he can make a difference”

Courtesy of:  P. Pratt,  Salesforce Ltd.

The world did not end.

So it seems that much has been accomplished in so little time. Not to mention that we have gone a full year without going to war or threatening anyone that we would.

• America has now regained its moral authority in the world with an emphasis now on brains not brawn. See (below): Hillary Clinton
• The US economic position has stabilized with a stock market up over 75% for the year, banks deemphasizing risk and a economy  that continues to innovate and produce See: Wi-Fi, the Kindle, iPod, the Droid, Bing, “the cloud”,  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Nitrile, ETF’s, on-line banking and trading and so much more.
• Health reform finally and rightfully positioned as the government top domestic priority which will address insurance callousness and long-term deficits.
• Gay rights revisited and improved.
• We avoided having Sarah Palin one breath way form the button.
• A stimulus program that saved the US economy. See: 3.5% GDP growth.

It was really ugly—a year ago were all wondering if the liaise-fare economic policy (see earlier Northwest Courant issues) had actually turned America into the land of the have less than me and the have nothings ruled by an uncaring elite. Even today with failing banks due the elimination of the Glass Stegall Act the stock market has rebounded and capital (slowly) is flowing again.

Deliberation is not a dirty word—getting opinions and considering the alternative is the path to well reasoned and thoughtful conclusions. It is refreshing in a time of “already made-up minds” that we have a president that deliberates.

Patience is a virtue—one of the missing ingredients in the past was a need for everything to be done immediately without regard to their unintended consequences. Obama, the Congress and the current administration must continue on with the Democratic agenda espoused during the campaign. This will take time.

• The Democratic controlled Congress needs some slack—the party of Just Say No! continues their obstructionism so that they can get back in power and continue their policies of aggrandizes the wealthiest among us. The Democratic Party will begin to hit their stride and learn to use their power wisely.
• Barney Frank is a breath of fresh air– Mr. Frank is probably the smartest man in Congress. He will begin to use his clout to rein in the terror of out-of-control greed and avarice of the banks and bankers.
• Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State was a stroke of brilliance—one of the most accomplished students of American foreign policy with a plethora of hands on experience, Hilary Clinton is a game changer in American foreign policy.

Consider the alternative.

The GOP answer to the Democratic health plans comparison:

The House Republicans just released their version of health reform. It’s a disaster — so outrageous that Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dubbed it the “Health Insurance Company Protection Act” — but Republicans are arguing it’s the key to real reform.

• The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) states the GOP proposed bill would barely make a dent in most of our premiums, and could lead to higher premiums for older Americans.
• The New York Times reports that it doesn’t stop insurers from refusing to cover you because of a pre-existing condition.
• The CBO’s research shows that the GOP plan would likely cut the deficit by just $68 billion over the next ten years — far less than the Democratic bill, which cuts the deficit by $104 billion over the same period.
• The CBO also estimates that under the Republican bill the number of uninsured Americans would actually increase to 52 million by 2019.
• And Politico writes that the Republican’s so-called plan doesn’t keep insurers from dropping you when you’re sick — it just makes them let you know that you’re being dropped.

Courtesy of: Jen O’Malley Dillon, Executive Director, Democratic National Committee

Or, we could still have the Neocons in charge of foreign policy:

What the neoconservatives believe that could still be running & ruining our country–

“Neocons” believe that the United States should not be ashamed to use its unrivaled power – forcefully if necessary – to promote its values around the world. Some even speak of the need to cultivate a US empire. Neoconservatives believe modern threats facing the US can no longer be reliably contained and therefore must be prevented, sometimes through preemptive military action.

Most neocons believe that the US has allowed dangers to gather by not spending enough on defense and not confronting threats aggressively enough. One such threat, they contend, was Saddam Hussein and his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Since the 1991 Gulf War, neocons relentlessly advocated Mr. Hussein’s ouster.

Most neocons share unwavering support for Israel, which they see as crucial to US military sufficiency in a volatile region. They also see Israel as a key outpost of democracy in a region ruled by despots. Believing that authoritarianism and theocracy have allowed anti-Americanism to flourish in the Middle East, neocons advocate the democratic transformation of the region, starting with Iraq. They also believe the US is unnecessarily hampered by multilateral institutions, which they do not trust to effectively neutralize threats to global.

Neocons envision a world in which the United States is the unchallenged superpower, immune to threats. They believe that the US has a responsibility to act as a “benevolent global hegemon.” In this capacity, the US would maintain an empire of sorts by helping to create democratic, economically liberal governments in place of “failed states” or oppressive regimes they deem threatening to the US or its interests. In the neocon dream world the entire Middle East would be democratized in the belief that this would eliminate a prime breeding ground for terrorists. This approach, they claim, is not only best for the US; it is best for the world. In their view, the world can only achieve peace through strong US leadership backed with credible force, not weak treaties to be disrespected by tyrants.

Any regime that is outwardly hostile to the US and could pose a threat would be confronted aggressively, not “appeased” or merely contained. The US military would be reconfigured around the world to allow for greater flexibility and quicker deployment to hot spots in the Middle East, as well as Central and Southeast Asia. The US would spend more on defense, particularly for high-tech, precision weaponry that could be used in preemptive strikes. It would work through multilateral institutions such as the United Nations when possible, but must never be constrained from acting in its best interests whenever necessary.

Courtesy of: The Christian Science Monitor   www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2004 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.

Where do we go from here- Yes we can!

“Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while longing to make music that will melt the stars” Gustavo Flaubert

We must believe in President Obama and his abilities. The key, as my English friend suggests, is sticking by and supporting the present administration.

More of us than them.

We cannot avoid the wind bags, billow-ators and far right wackos but we can support a president who understands that true change comes through political incrementalism and that over time achieves true results and real change. I only shake my head and tell my wife, “In a democracy where the rule of law is determined by the pure arithmetic of having one more vote than the other side; let’s just hope and pray there continues to be more of us than them.”  The key is to try to increase our ranks and not remain mute in the face of insanity like this:

Now is the time for us to be resolute and hopeful. We have so much to look forward to with the productivity gains of the last decade, a push toward green technologies and a universally accepted system that is the envy of the world. A little patience will go a long way—Obama was certainly worth waiting for…