First Glimpse of an Obama Administration

In my last article I stated that, although I had serious concerns, I hoped we would come together as Americans and that an Obama administration would rise above partisanism, move to the center and soften its socialist economic philosophy. Now, three days after the election, we are getting our first glimpses of what an Obama presidency will be like, and my optimism is fading fast.

I find Mr. Obama's selection of Congressman Rahm Emanuel as Whitehouse Chief of Staff very disturbing. Congressman Emanuel is one of the most notoriously combative and partisan members of the Congress. His choice as Chief of Staff in the new cabinet clearly calls into question statements made by the President-Elect in his victory speech just days ago when he said he wanted to rise above the immaturity of partisan politics. Americans are sick and tired of sending representatives to Congress to play a partisan chess game instead of caring for the nation and representing the people that elected them. If this first cabinet choice is an indication of things to come, we should be very concerned. James Carney said this in an article published today in Time Magazine about Congressman Emanuel:

Not everyone in Congress, or in Washington, particularly likes Emanuel, 49, the former senior Clinton White House official who just won his fourth term in Congress representing a portion of Chicago and who serves as the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House. Even some members of his own party (including members of the black and Latino caucuses) bear no affection for him, especially those who feel he has run roughshod over their prerogatives in pursuit of some greater goal — like wresting control of the House from the Republicans in 2006, a project Emanuel spearheaded. Others simply fear him.

Now it turns out that the money from the $700 billion bailout package did not go to the banks with government oversight as promised. The Fed merely purchased shares of the affected banks’ stocks. CEOs can, now, use these funds any way they want. They have already used some of these funds to purchase other banks; not an intended use for money allocated to reduce the red on their balance sheets. Another probable use will be to pay their legal defense costs when they are prosecuted for the wrongdoing that led to the financial meltdown. So the government and, therefore, the taxpayer, will be footing the bill to defend the criminals that got us into this mess using the $700 billion we entrusted to the government solely to fix the meltdown. Allegedly, the government FORCED Bank of America to take bailout funds when they didn’t even want them! And, now, everyone is in line asking for a handout, from the auto industry to the credit card companies to the realtors and construction industry.

At a meeting, yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a, now, unbridled democratic Congress were already promising bailouts for everyone. They were calling for an additional $300 billion bailout package on top of the current $700 billion package and $25 billion more for the auto industry which already quietly received a $25 billion bailout the same day the $700 billion bailout package was approved. Where does it end?

This country is going bankrupt! While those that caused this mess (greedy bankers, poorly run corporations and people that overspent on mortgages and credit cards) will now get TRILLIONS of bailout dollars from the taxpayer, responsible Americans that lived within their means will inherit a partisan, socialist government with their fingers in everything from the banking and healthcare systems to the auto industry, a broken, debt-ridden economy with a worthless inflated dollar, and empty 401k's from a failed stock market. I am very concerned!