Although the Republicans were branded as the "party of no" by the Dems, many of President Obama's problems in his first two years came from resistance to change from within his own party.
The current "ear mark" issue illustrates that not much has changed, despite the drubbing that the Democrats took in the mid-terms. You will recall that candidate Obama was for change, including ending ear-marks. This was not done in his first budget. There were ear-marks galore. Now there is a proposal by the Republican caucus to ban ear-marks. And guess who is firmly opposed? Good old Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate. According to Senator Reid, he has "an obligation to the people of Nevada... not to some bureaucrat with green eyeshades".
Good luck, Mr. President. With old hands like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi leading your party back to the future, 2012 should be very interesting.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Feelin' old, Lewis? This is the second time in a month you've made a very pointed suggestion that to be old is to be effectively useless.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I get around more than you do, but I've met lots of spry-minded seniors. Conversely, two close relatives of mine, one the son of the other, were both old when they were 45: they refuse to open their minds to anything new. But that's the choice they made. And it has aged them, eventually showing up in physical signs. Their mind-set, however, came first.
Saw this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/magazine/28athletes-t.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB
just now, and thought of you, Lewis...
Thanks..
ReplyDeleteThe expression "you can't teach old dogs new tricks" is not really a slam on older folks. It is more a reference to people who are set in their ways.
My reference to Helen was meant as a bit of humour and was specifically about her; not all 90 year olds.
But I take your point.