I have been doing what a lot of people do, researchers inform us, when times are tough; I have been escaping to fantasy. Yes, even watched again the Wizard of Oz.
Oh, and the entire Harry Potter DVD set to prepare myself for number six just released on the big screen.
I have avoided the health care debate and the beer summit, though I admit to watching William Shatner doing a dramatic reading of Sarah Palin's Farewell Alaska speech, later to be a major motion picture.
This morning I was lured into "hard news" with a time headline on MyYahoo! page informing me that Obama Drops Faster than Bush or Carter. To show you where my mind was I briefly wondered it he had been sky diving or mountain climbing. Seems we are talking polls. Mind you Obama is still over 50% approval reading. How far over depends upon who took the poll.
Both Obama and Carter began their presidencies with polling numbers in the 60's. Obama had a 60% approval rating after his inaugral speech. We thought he was the Wizard of Oz or Harry Potter. With a wave of his magic wand he was going to solve all our problems. And with a wave of his pen he did banish various executive orders which were unpopular.
Then he did not instantly close Gitmo. Nor slap Cheney in a cell there when he defended enhanced interragation techniques. He began the pull out in Iraq but did not silence Iran. He upped troup levels in Afganistan. And the Blue Dog Democrats have slowed his advance on the health care reform. The investment banks and firms are paying back TARP funds but people are still losing jobs, all be it slower than they were losing them before.
Shovel ready projects are being slowed by government red tape, and Fox News is making a lot of noise about "pork barrel" spending and putting our grandchildren in hock. We want him to banish all the naysayers like Potter dispensed of his dragon in Goblet of Fire. So some of us disappointed followers probably gave a negative response to the pollster calling. I know I said, mind still on the Potter movie I was watching, that I felt the economy was better but personally my finances still rather worried me. And no I could not see a time when I could reinvest in mutual funds. And yes, all my friends had withdrawn and spent theirs too.
No, Obama does not have a magic wand. If he did Rush Limbaugh would be in Never, Never Land. I think the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz holds our answer; it is within ourselves. We just need to believe in ourselves. We have looked too long for solutions from others. We need to argue for what we want and need. August recess is upon us. Talk to your Washington representatives.
As to Obama. We just need some patience. And turn off Fox News.
Here I am and I say a big AMEN. Someone asked why we're even doing these polls yesterday morning on Morning Joe .. good question. I noticed in an article I skimmed earlier that there are uprising in Town Hall meetings .. I checked further .. they are democratic ones .. I'm imaginging the naysayers are mostly those borne of the Rush and Glenn band of village idiots. Freedom of speech is fine ~ but should have an imperative of truth. Yes, our president has been in office 7 months and people have forgotten the war, forgotten Cheney and the Mobsters and moved on to bashing a man who is always out there for and with us. Crazy. I guess they forgot what he said, "We are the change we seek." Some people refuse to change. I have noted many representatives pleading with the public to write to our representatives in congress .. I wonder if they do or if they're just too comfortable in their negative zone to step out of it, think a bit more clearly ~ find out what the true news is before they spew things they don't know anything about ~ and attempt to be the change we seek. Great blog and thanks for pointing it out to me. I finally made it in here again!! :o)
ReplyDeleteAmen, sister! You are so right. I like to compare it to losing weight: We didn't get into this condition overnight, and it's going to take more than a few months to get us back where we ought to be. And it's going to take a lot of diet and exercise (pain and suffering) if we are to achieve it.
ReplyDeleteI love bekkieann's comparison. Very clever!
ReplyDeleteSo what's new? A new President's popularity always dips a few months after coming into office and there's no reason why this one should be any different. I don't think it's helped by Fox News which is why i never watch it - it's biased reporting during the campaign turned me off totally and anyway anything owned by Rupert Murdoch is a turn off for me.
I do become irritated when people expect things to happen overnight and I think the slogan "Yes we can" still applies.
I am always irritated by armchair critics which most people in Australia tend to be.
ReplyDeleteInstead of getting off their behinds and helping make this world a better place to live in they are content with finding fault with whoever is running the country.
when kevin rudd took over as australian prime minister and john howard and the ghastly liberal party were at last banished the mood was euphoric. people were practically breaking into busby berkley inspired renditions of happy days are here again on the streets. i was actually a little nervous. even though i was relieved that howard was gone and thought that rudd would do a much better job i also thought that rudd was only human, not a demi god. after so many years of disappointment and hopelessness people went a little crazy and their expectations were inevitably to be a little disappointed. but that's ok. i still prefer rudd to howard and obama to bush
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