Such strange times we live in. Several days ago the Iraq War ended and apparently hardly anyone noticed. I suppose the lack of shock and awe meant most Americans couldn't be bothered. There was just one last oh-so solemn flag folding ceremony and then Secretary of Defense Panetta spewed a few words and that was that. Here's the final scoreboard: 4,486 dead; 32,226 wounded, many so seriously wounded that they would have died in earlier wars; somewhere north of 800 billion spent, all of it borrowed and flushed down the toilet; 9 billion lost and unaccounted for; 550 million in spare parts vanished; 1 billion in trucks, tractors, and other assorted vehicles missing and approximately 190,000 weapons misplaced. And all for what - to replace Saddam Hussein with fucking Nouri al-Maliki? Can anyone point out to me what the fuck else we accomplished? Excuse me while I go vomit.
OK, that was not pleasant. For those of us who lived through the Vietnam years, guess what? We got fooled again. Suckered like the suckers we are. However, there was one fellow who warned the nation of this potential disaster, who as a member of the U.S. Senate opposed attacking Iraq. Oh yeah, Mr. Barrack Hussein Obama, that chump of a president that not even half the country say they would vote for again at this point in time. Really? I have to wonder if any of these American citizens have paid any attention to what the other side is offering. Or is it just "I ain't voting for that chump because the economy sucks and it's all Obama's fault. So there!" Then who, pray tell, are you planning to vote for people? Jesus, it's a scary bunch of Republicans - Gingrich the narcissistic, money grubbing cheat; Romney the private sector hack that has yet to meet a social issue that he can't embrace if it means a vote; Rick Perry the, the, the, oh fuck it this guy's too stupid, fake and creepy to categorize with any fifty- dollar words. Ditto for Bachman. Then there's Ron Paul. What an unbelievably awesome election it would be with Obama running against this crazy Libertarian. Whoah!! And of course there's my man Huntsman, who I picked to win the primary because I actually thought the Repubes would figure out that he's the only one that makes any sense and who could possibly beat Obama. What a shithead I am.
So, what's the downside of re-electing Obama? Now, readers of this blog know I have my problems with this dude, and many of them he hasn't done much of anything to change (piss-poor communicator, totally fucking up the issue of states rights to implement medical marijuana and others). However, it's really quite surprising when one stops and considers what this guy has done in three years. Let's see:
-ended the Iraq War
-cleared up the dumbass "don't ask, don't tell" policy of gays in the military
-extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees
-appointed first Latina to the Supreme Court
-signed the START treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons
-repealed the moron Bush's ban on embryonic stem cell research
-established the credit card bill of rights
-passed health care reform bill
-shored up the Veterans Administration medical service, which was an absolute disgrace under Bush
-extended Pell Grants
-saved General Motors and Chrysler, almost singlehandedly
-got Bin Laden
-ARRA
Not bad! Now, the ARRA (economic stimulator bill) isn't without controversy. But when it comes to the economy, this much must be said - it's NOT Obama's economy. I am so sick and fucking tired of hearing how Obama's failed policies haven't made the economy magically better, or that Obama's stimulus didn't work, or that Obama hates big business and the greedy rats that run them. This last one is a real laugher. His Justice Department has yet to press criminal charges against one motherfucker with obvious responsibility in nearly toppling the world economy. There have been civil charges. Ha, big deal. But here's the bottom line - the 2008 collapse of the economy was decades in the making. The amount of debt created in this world over the last 30 years is beyond comprehension - European countries with 80-120% of debt to their GDP; the commercial and residential mortgage debacle; the huge unfunded pension liabilities of cities and states; and tens of TRILLIONS of dollars in credit default swaps, those nasty side bets on anything and everything that no institution accepting the bet had to actually have the goddamn money on hand to pay out in case of , you know, an actual default! WTF? And, of course, the unbelievable amount of credit card and student loan debt taken on by people as well as corporate debt created by the likes of Mitt Romney and other raiders to finance takeovers of companies that would then be torn apart and the pieces sold to the highest bidders while the investment bankers and the deal makers pocketed boatloads of borrowed money for making the deal. And people, lots of people, laid off. All of this done to buy today what could be saved for and bought tomorrow. But why the fuck would anyone do that? So here we are, and guess who inherited this train wreck from the most inept administration in US history. That's right, poor old Obama. The greatest deleveraging in modern times and Obama doesn't have a magic wand to wave to make it all better. Boohoo. We are talking massive, massive deleveraging, which robs everyone of the ability to spend money right now, even borrowed money since banks are shoring up their depleted capital reserves and aren't lending. No buying means no selling, and that folks is why we have a snail's pace recovery. Everyone, and I mean everyone who could have done something to prevent this catastrophe either ignored it or kicked the turd down the road for the next sucker to deal with. The turd ended up sticking to Obama's shoes.
As with some past second term presidents (not Bush - too dumb), I believe Obama, if re-elected, will be what many centrist and liberals were hoping for - a tough, my way or the highway guy who isn't faced with having to run for office again and will then tackle the thornier stuff. We'll see.
Yes, the times are strange - but not hopeless. In fact, I sense a shift, a slight change in the greater psyche of this beaten down country. 2012 will be better. I honestly believe that. So this New Years Eve, raise that glass of champagne at the stroke of midnight and toast yourself and the ones you love and the ones that love you and even the ones that just kind of like you. You know who they are. And for God's sake, remember to watch out for the stumps!
