I get upset when one person doesn’t like me. Imagine millions of people spewing vile in your direction every minute of every day. People who define their life, it seems, by dissecting every word and every move you make so they can find an opening to attack you maliciously and relentlessly. This is American politics today.
Today, as the markets nose dive and economic indicators are grim, and we have a brief respite from the Slasher Debt Crisis, politicians all over America are trying to re-jigger their messages and blame someone else for a lousy economy and a horrible state of public discourse.
Barack Obama ran on the a platform of bringing change to politics in Washington. Now he blames “Washington created” problems that are bedeviling Americans, as if they are outside his control. Even if that’s true, it’s a slippery message platform.
Michelle Obama sent me, and a few million others, an email today asking to sign greetings to her husband for his 50th birthday. Great. I did it, and then was bounced to a message asking for a campaign contribution. The Dow is down 3% today, nearly in free fall. It’s not a good day to ask me for money.
There seems to be a collective shrug when it comes to developing solutions for our problems. Some say “cut up the credit cards.” Others say stimulate the economy. What we get is a hybrid approach that satisfies neither proposition.
What’s my personal prescription for all this doom and gloom? Think of Syria. Think of Libya. Then laugh, loud and often. It could be worse. And it seems like it will be. We could be heading for another recession, before we recover from the last one.
