Child President

Tantrum at the Whine of the Union Address

In November, 2008, this country elected a President with virtually no experience based on the promise of hope and change. The people hoped Obama would grow into the job as he administered this hope and change. That is what makes this country great, virtually anyone can become President. Obama proves that point.

With a super majority in the Senate, control of the House and a popularity rating in the 70% range, the new President seemed poised to push through any legislation he desired, but something funny happened along the way. The American people rejected his policies of government take-over, drunken-sailor spending, backroom deals and Miranda rights for terrorists.

The American people grew tired of his ad nauseum apologies. They did not like to call the war on terror an overseas contingency. The change promised during the campaign became 15 cents on the dollar and the hope was maybe it would become 20 cents. The American people tried to express these grievances during the spring and summer with tea parties all across America. Prior to the Revolutionary War, the original tea party in Boston was a protest against the heavy-handedness of the King. The modern tea parties are trying to convey the same sentiment. Our would-be King, the Child President, is pushing his agenda of ‘Big Brother’ government regardless of the Constitution or the will of the people.

The Child President and his Court, along with the Court Jester, Joe Biden, continued to be oblivious to the tea parties. The tea party participants were vilified, called racists, Nazis and stupid people who cling to their guns and religion. The tea parties were dismissed as a few right wing dissidents too stupid to understand the Child President.

Then along came the Massachusetts senate race. The Child President campaigned in that state and derided the American-made 200,000 mile truck driven by Brown. That crazy bunch of right wing dissidents in Massachusetts elected Republican Scott Brown to the Senate over Democrat Martha Coakley to the seat held by the late Ted Kennedy since 1962. Obama would no longer enjoy a super majority in the Senate and would have to actually have to invite those rascally Republicans to meetings. Well there goes the neighborhood. The Child President suffered his first scrapped knee and was not happy about it.

The Child President took the opportunity of the State of the Union Address to throw a tantrum. He turned it into the Whine of the Union Address instead. He whined about partisan politics just before he bashed the Republicans. He whined about the Supreme Court while the members of that Court were sitting there in front of him. He whined about TV pundits. He whined about the evils of lobbyists and then invited them to a meeting the very next day. He whined about Bush. He whined about the deficit, promising to freeze spending in 2011, but he ran up a record deficit in only one year.

The petulant Child President does not want to hear from the unwashed populous the king is wearing no clothes. If you think it difficult to rear a Child President, just wait until his teen years. God help us all .,, Wait, can I still say God?

Randy Russ
http://www.randyruss.com/

Groundhog Day

Be Like Phil (But Not At First)

"Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

James Morris, Berks County, Pennsylvania Storekeeper, February 5, 1841

This is one of the first American references to what we now call Groundhog’s Day celebrated on February 2nd. It was the basis for one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. In this movie, Bill Murray plays the part of an egocentric Pittsburgh weather man, Phil Connors, covering the hated Groundhog Day assignment in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Strangely enough, it is Groundhog Day each morning Phil awakens and he has to repeat this hated assignment over and over again. At first, he uses this unique situation for his own selfish reasons. With no fear of long-term consequences, Phil eats to the point of gluttony. He steals money, he uses inside information about the townspeople for dubious motives. He gives abusive and offensive reports on the Groundhog Day. He kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and drives off a cliff, much to the horror of everyone else. He commits various forms of suicide. He does all of this knowing he will awaken the next morning to the sounds of Sonny and Cher on his radio alarm and will start a fresh day.

But a strange metamorphosis occurs. Eventually, Phil Connor uses his unique situation to make his life and others around him better. He learns foreign languages. He learns the piano. He learns to ice sculpt. He discovers other people’s needs and assists them. It took Phil a long time reliving the same day over and over before he changed. His life moved forward only after he finally changed into a better person. At last, he woke to the morning of February 3rd.

I fear we are all a little like Phil Connors. We try the same thing over and over and seem to never wake up to a truly new day. Oh, it is a new day according to the calendar, but is it really new? We get in a rut and like it there. The rut is familiar and is safe. We do the same thing over and over, never bothering to look over the sides of our rut. The longer we stay in our rut, the deeper it becomes and we like that as well. If work your rut long enough, it becomes an inescapable grave.

We do not move from our ruts until we abandon our selfishness and think about other people’s needs. You do not have to learn to ice sculpt, play the piano or speak French before you wake up to a new day, start this moment. Make a difference in someone else’s life. Find someone who needs help, look them in the eye and quote the song Phil Connors heard every morning, I got you babe.

Randy Russ

http://www.randyruss,com/