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OBAMA HONEYMOON OVER / TOO MANY GAFFES, TOO FEW CHANGES
President Barack Obama bowing to Saudi King Abdullah during the G-20 Summit / Americans do not bow to foreign monarchs because that act signifies the monarch's power over his subjects.
Camille Paglia, Salon, takes Obama to task for his slow pace of learning on the job but Obama's progressive base, including myself, have already decided the Honeymoon is over for Obama and it's time for some dramatic changes in both his staff and priorities before the Bush Recession becomes the Obama Depression: Allen L Roland
Camille Paglia writes in Salon that we should let President Obama grow into the job ~ but he better do it fast ! Then she summarizes Obama's obvious staffing problems starting with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner as well as some needless gaffes including a video of Obama making a deep bow to Saudi King Abdullah during the G-20 Summit. http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2009/04/08/bow/index.html?source=newsletter
Then we have Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, writing of The Two Faces Of Barack Obama ~ One for the masses, one for the power elite. " Like Americans, the Europeans want to believe – but they see the two faces of Barack Obama too clearly, and the contrast is too apparent to be denied. The gullible Americans, who take things at face value, still believe their new president represents a real change, a challenge to the status quo, while the more sophisticated Europeans are quick to pick up on Obama’s inconsistencies ~ made all the more glaring by his habit of pairing two mutually contradictory stances on the same issue." http://original.antiwar.com/wp-content/plugins/rich_author/author_logos/behindheadline540cr.gif
And now we have Salon columnist and constitutional scholar Glenn Greenwald ,who is generally supportive of progressive interpretations of the law, saying the Obama Administration has "invented a brand new claim" of immunity from spying litigation.
"In other words, beyond even the outrageously broad 'state secrets' privilege invented by the Bush administration and now embraced fully by the Obama administration, the Obama DOJ has now invented a brand new claim of government immunity, one which literally asserts that the U.S. Government is free to intercept all of your communications (calls, emails and the like) and ~ even if what they're doing is blatantly illegal and they know it's illegal ~ you are barred from suing them unless they 'willfully disclose' to the public what they have learned," Greenwald wrote.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/06/obama/index.html
And finally the infamous Wall Street bailouts ~ Bill Moyers and Michael Winship write in Salon that Obama must stop protecting Wall Street bankers and insiders who have broken the law ~ particularly his top financial advisor, Larry Summers: " Over the weekend, the White House released financial disclosure reports revealing that Summers, director of the National Economic Council, received $5.2 million last year working for a $30 billion hedge fund. He made another $2.7 million in lecture fees, including cash from such recent beneficiaries of taxpayer generosity as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs. The now defunct financial services giant Lehman Brothers handsomely purchased his pearls of wisdom, too.
Reading stories about Summers and Wall Street you realize the man was intoxicated by the exotic witches' brew of derivatives and other financial legerdemain that got us into such a fine mess in the first place. Yet here he is, serving as gatekeeper of the information and analysis going to President Obama on the current financial collapse." http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/04/09/moyers_winship/index.html?source=newsletter
The Honeymoon is over for President Obama. His progressive base, including myself, are demanding real change and soon ~ which is precisely why we elected him .
And finally we have the outrage of President Obama bowing to Saudi King Abdullah at the G20 Summit. Who does Obama serve? The American people or the financial and Global power elite? Does Obama realize the full extent of the economic crisis we are now facing?
David B. Livingstone 's recent comparison of Obama’s coming to power on 1/20/09 with the Titanic is an excellent analogy :
“Imagine yourself as being aboard the Titanic in the first few moments following its chance encounter with an iceberg. An announcement comes across the ship’s public address system: ‘Attention passengers. We wish to inform you that this ship is no longer under the command of the incompetent schmuck who got us into this mess. Instead, we have appointed a new captain of uncommon skill and unquestioned valor and honor, the ideal steward for a vessel such as this. So please relax and enjoy the remainder of your trip, and thanks for choosing Cunard Lines for your transatlantic travel needs.”
The Obama honeymoon is over ~ too many gaffes, too few changes.
Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2009/04/09.html
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