Gah...

For whatever reason, the heat is holding off.. it is all around us, in the valley and South and North of here… but a thick marine layer lies over the Bay. Thanks be to Jeebus.

*****

Wandering the netteries I landed on this little stunner at none other than The Guardian. Wonder what boyo’s next step will be.

[T]he Obama administration’s approach has been much more tepid, to say the least. The US financial industry, as expected, is fighting these reforms, but what do we make of a recent quote by President Obama questioning the need for supporting Europe’s proposals. “Why is it,” he asked during a recent interview, “that we’re going to cap executive compensation for Wall Street bankers but not Silicon Valley entrepreneurs or [American] football players?”

Besides the fact that President Obama was wrong – the National Football League does have salary restrictions – Silicon Valley businesses and NFL quarterbacks don’t cause an economic collapse when they screw up. It’s very sobering that, if David Letterman read that quote on his TV show and asked his audience: “Who made this clueless statement, former President Bush or President Obama?” we know what the response would be. Or would have been. . . . . .

And this:

[M]any leaders and supporters are beginning to wonder what is causing this growing gap between the Barack Obama that many people saw on the campaign trail, and the Obama they see in the White House? Beyond Obama’s oratorical skills, which excited not only American voters but people all over the world, he is mostly untested as a politician. His previous experience was only a few years in the US Senate and a few years more as a state senator. A sinking feeling is arising among many that President Obama may not be up to the task, that he may not possess the artful skills needed to accomplish even his own goals. . . . . .

More than a tad generous on the description of his time in the US Senate. He arrived to move on, shall we say, forming the Hope PAC a FEW DAYS after being sworn in in 2005. On a mission.

And this, below, is very true… but you know, I just don’t care any more. This is our political system. No one can claim to be surprised! And the pols, top to bottom with so few exceptions, RELY ON IT. They like it.   Hell!  they LOVE it!… just as they did when it protected slavery. And slave holding states’ votes… and so on.

[B]ut it must be recognised that it’s not just Obama’s shortcomings that are causing the problem. The very structure of the American political system is at the heart of these failures. For example, thwarting Obama on a regular basis is an unrepresentative senate where “minority rule” prevails and undermines what a majority of the country may want. With two senators elected per state, regardless of population, California with more than 35 million people has the same number of senators as Wyoming with just half a million residents. This constitutional arrangement greatly favours low population states, many of which tend to be conservative, producing what one political analyst has called “a weighted vote for small-town whites in pickup trucks with gun racks.” . . . . .

And this is the close… (clap clap clap … just don’t expect much!)

[U]nless Barack Obama is able to demonstrate a better level of political skill than he has shown so far, everyone needs to fasten their seatbelts. The world is about to enter a challenging phase where the US – the undisputed leader of the free world for the past 60 years – is going to rapidly cede its place at the head of the line.

It appears that the wheels may be coming off the world’s post-war leader, and not even Barack Obama can stop it happening.

well, whoops.

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