Ashes to Ashes ........

I used to believe that a coin had two sides and one edge. And maybe it does in the world of spatial geometry but not in the world of the Obama administration and the media coverage thereof.

I do not make light of the funeral of the President of Poland and other members of their government. I mourn with that people for yet another loss piled upon those during World War II.

Nor do I forget the Jews who died in Auschwitz and in other camps in Poland nor those Jews who were starved to death in the ghettos of Warsaw and elsewhere and their guards were largely Polish.

But Obama couldn’t get there because of the ash from the volcano in Iceland and so he played golf instead. He could have gone to a church in Washington DC and prayed there but he didn’t. He could have stayed home and read his Bible or his Koran but he didn’t.

He played golf for the 32nd time since his “immaculation”.

In contrast, I remember the media’s scorn when W was reputed to be always on the golf course or in Crawford, Texas.

The same “independent” press corps delighted on reporting then that W played golf an “appalling”, 24 times in 8 years,

Words have meaning whether one is a member of the press or whether one is a president..

Former President Bill Clinton, while speaking at an event sponsored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund recently, said this:

“Words have consequences as much as actions do, and what we advocate, commensurate with our position and responsibility, we have to take responsibility for.”

Mr. Clinton makes a point about our current situation in general and President Obama in particular, though this was certainly not his intention. I think it a bit disingenuous of him to conflate anti-Government rhetoric with the Oklahoma City bombing in particular…but he’s on to something here with his overall concerns

And, while Clinton was quick to pat the Tea Parties on the back for exercising their first amendment rights by rallying and protesting against “big Government,” he was also quietly suggesting they should play nicer whenever and wherever they do it. And it is here that Mr. Clinton and I go our separate ways:

“What we learned from Oklahoma City is not that we should gag each other or that we should reduce our passion for the positions we hold - but that the words we use really do matter, because there’s this vast echo chamber, and they go across space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the connected and the unhinged alike,” he said.

This is like saying we should not allow violent video games or questionable content only because a few people might take it the wrong way and do something terrible…that “law of good intentions fraught with unintended consequences” thing.

The theory works both ways here, and that is what Clinton is missing. Let’s remember how strongly the American people had stood up against the health care bill…its content and the process by which it was passed and signed.

The resistance was not displayed by Tea Partiers alone; a great many Americans were against the bill. This monstrosity proved to be a showcase for politicians being politically tone deaf to the demands of their constituents and going forward against the will of the people all the same…with total impunity.

And this brings me to President Obama and his cocky, mocking bravado now that he’s of the opinion he can do whatever he wants and assuming there’s nothing any of us can actually do about it:

I’ve already talked about his speech in Florida and so I shan’t do it again now. But I’ll try to start again where I left off last time. And what galled me. apart from the sycophants chanting in perfect rhythm was this thought.

Amused, Mr. President?

Laughing at the people you work for because they don’t like what you’re doing? That is not a good example of Executive Branch Leadership.

Rather than choosing that path of “Leadership” by embarking on an ongoing engagement with those of us opposed to his Health Care debacle in an effort to reassure us of its righteousness, Obama has chosen instead to taunt us:

President Barack Obama dared Republicans to try to repeal his new health care law, telling them Thursday to “Go for it” and see how well they do with voters in November.

During one of his early victory laps in Iowa, Obama further mocks and taunts those he means to lead with this little gem:

“Three years ago, we made a promise. That promise has been kept. Of course, over the last year, there’s been a lot of misinformation spread about health care reform. There’s been plenty of fear-mongering, plenty of overheated rhetoric.

So after I signed the bill, I looked around to see if there any asteroids falling or some cracks opening up in the Earth. And on and on and on ……”

Nice display of adulthood there Mr. President. Lots of people take being laughed at and mocked and taunted and made fun of, after losing something that meant a great deal to them, rather badly sir.

Your end zone celebrations, and pre-fight trash talking hype, do not enhance the tone of American dialog and actually serves to foment the anger and rage you routinely lament (and blame voices on the right for having brought to the surface).

And Obama’s use of the phrase “there’s been a lot of misinformation spread” is becoming the basis for every defense of every bill he means to inflict on us.

Consider his approach to addressing the issue of Financial reform - by kicking the lap dog he’s just finished housebreaking: Obama accused opposition Republicans on Saturday of spreading misinformation about a Democratic bill that aims to tighten oversight of Wall Street banks and their practices.

Obama’s words, as President Clinton pointed out regarding resistance to this Administration’s antics and childishness, are not helping. As President of the United States, and commensurate with his own position and responsibility, he must take responsibility for his own words and actions.

As Clinton said: “One of the things that the conservatives have always brought to the table in America is a reminder that no law can replace personal responsibility.

And the more power you have and the more influence you have, the more responsibility you have.”

Or putting it another way. Everything is an edge and there is only one side.

I hope you all enjoyed “Ash Sunday” or whatever you want to call it