Lance Thompson

Ministry of Fear

Brack Obama rode to the presidency on a tidal wave of campaign enthusiasm, famously promising Hope and Change. Instead, his administration has been governed by Fear and Loathing.

The Economy Falls

The Dow passed to the good side of 10,000 last week, and celebration was widespread because it was heralded as a sign of better times ahead. As early as May 27, Treasury Secretary and Turbo Tax tyro Timothy Geithner said the US economy was in the early stages of recovery, and in late August announced “We are back from the brink.” Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the financial equivalent of the Magic 8 Ball, has been saying since March that “signs point to recovery.” Administration spokesmen point to improving home sales, rising stock prices, and make-work jobs programs and credit the stimulus spending for curing the economy from its ills. They conveniently overlook the virus of unemployment, the contagion of home foreclosures, or the consumptive decline of the dollar’s value.

Last to Know

“You’re always the last to know your own reputation.” I can’t be certain that I coined that phrase, but I am sure that it is an underlying principle of the universe, and even presidents are bound by its laws.

What a Character

A nation’s character, like that of an individual, is determined by many factors. Among these are promises kept, principles upheld, ideals embodied and sacrifices made. Under the Obama administration, our national character has suffered in all these categories, most recently in regard to the cancellation of the missile defense system our nation previously pledged to erect in Poland and Czechoslovakia.

Presidential Pants on Fire

During President Obama’s health care speech to a joint session of Congress, the President’s claim that illegal aliens weren’t covered in the legislation met with incredulity from the few people present who read and understood the bill. But Republican congressman Joe Wilson said out loud what the rest were thinking. “You lie!”

Prosecutorial Misconduct

The Obama administration announced that Attorney General Eric Holder will assign a special prosecutor to take the first step in bringing to trial CIA operatives who used extreme measures to interrogate terrorists. These extreme measures did not include torture, but merely threats and coercion which caused those interrogated to reveal details of planned terrorist attacks, and further permitted the United States to prevent them.

Tricky Trillions

Basic political tactics dictate that bad news is released on a Friday, preferably before a big holiday weekend, when few people are paying attention. The current administration has had no shortage of bad news of late, but last Friday they announced that their previous ten-year estimate of the budget deficit (about $7 trillion) was too low. The revised deficit estimate for 2010-2019 is $9 trillion–two trillion dollars higher than before.

White House Character

The steady drop in President Obama’s approval ratings has been attributed to the recent acrimonious debate over health care reform. But I believe that debate is only a minor factor in Americans’ growing dissatisfaction with the president. The real source of Obama’s declining popularity is his character.

The Comeback Kid

Political strategy is ordinarily considered “inside baseball” because only die-hard followers of the sport are interested. But occasionally, such topics have national implications. Such is the case with Hillary Clinton’s ambitions.

Russian Into Trouble

Barack Obama is the most authentically anti-war president since Jimmy Carter. While a student at Columbia, he wrote a paper called “Breaking the War Mentality” which favored a unilateral nuclear freeze, advocated shifting spending from military to social needs, and supported other campus anti-military organizations. During the presidential campaign, he advocated immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and was widely known as the anti-war candidate of his party.

SignThis, Read it Later

Comedian George Carlin had a well-known routine based on his memories of Catholic high school. He and his friends used to try to stump the priest with theological conundrums such as, “Could God make a rock so heavy that even He Himself couldn’t lift it?” Carlin got laughs with this, but a similar question could be applied to Congress with less mirth.

Madam Senator

Dear Senator Boxer, There has been much public discussion about your comments to General Michael Walsh of the Army Corps of Engineers when he testified before your Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works last week. You interrupted General Walsh while he was answering–by all accounts courteously–your question to him about repairing levees damaged by Hurricane Katrina.