World News Trust: Three Little Words (Mary Lyon)

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Mary Lyon, On The Left -- World News Trust

Feb. 5, 2009 -- “I screwed up.”

Sounds like a simple, ordinary, and harmless little thing to admit, unless of course you’re the President of the United States. We haven’t heard the likes of this in at least eight years. No wonder everybody in the media is almost literally erupting about it. They can’t believe their ears. Seems THAT is a little misplaced, too. By about eight years and a whole lot of Texas Two-Steppin’ around the truth, both inconvenient and uncomfortable.

In just a few days in office, President Obama has made it stunningly clear that the infantile, cowardly, deceitful, and recklessly incompetent (almost to the point of pride) Bush/Republican Way of doing things is OVER. With those three little words, “I screwed up,” he’s already provided us a new template of what a REAL president, a REAL man, a REAL adult, does when something goes wrong on his or her watch. As one TV commentator put it -- “he manned up.” The last time I got to thinking about this, I wondered what I myself was going to do now that the changes had happened. Seems everyone’s grappling with that, now. We’re just not used to this.

The “loyal opposition” certainly doesn’t know what to do -- they’re even more in the dark than I am. In a previous column, I ruminated about not being sure, anymore, how to behave in this new political climate. President Obama had set a new tone for political ops, one of reaching out, blissful and productive bipartisanship, open hands versus clenched fists. The GOP, in seems, only gets part of this -- the part with the clenched fists.

Obama sure showed ‘em. He extended that open hand alright. Stretched all the way out to Republican-ville. Met with a generous variety of groups of them -- pols and pundits alike. Invited them for drinks. Invited them to watch the Super Bowl with him in the sumptuous comfort of The White House. Listened with both ears to all their complaints and “big ideas” about fixing the economy -- their way, of course. Took many -- TOO many -- of their suggestions. Abandoned many -- TOO many -- of his own. Gave them several seats at the table and as of this writing, not one, nor two, but THREE Cabinet posts. Offered them everything short of moving out of the Oval Office so John McCain could have it. Never mind that Obama did all this for the LOSERS -- who clearly haven’t recognized this new status of theirs (nor would they ever consider similar response if the Democrats had gotten their heads handed to them in the last election. Never mind that he elevated their same old, stale, unworkable, short-sighted, cheap-skate, politics of selfishness to a seriously undeserved parity. They LOST. Because their ideas and policies suck, and as a nation we’ve had at least eight years of laboratory time to see that assertion conclusively proven.

They took President Obama’s open hand and promptly spit in it.

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