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I'm angry.

There is no doubt that it's been a tough week for the new President. But when you really look at it, where is it coming from? Polls will almost overwhelmingly show that Americans are behind the stimulus package. His approval ratings are better than Bush's almost ever were--at least in the last few years. So why is it that every time I turn on the TV I see these over-combed republicans railing about how this package is the final nail in the coffin of our economy?

The Obama administration kept their word about bi-partisanship. They asked them to the table, listened to their ideas, tried to work with them. And seriously, it seems to me that the republicans have not acted in good faith. It's like they thumbed their noses at him and his overatures. They mocked the bi-partisan efforts. All because they didn't get what they wanted.

And what did they want? MORE of what hasn't worked! All of what they want is all of what got us into this mess in the first place! The Bush administration passed TRILLIONS of dollars of tax cuts in 2001, 2 and 3 and look where we are! The Dems worked in good faith on those, only to get shoved out of the way and trampled on....AND those cuts have not helped our economy at all.

The farce that the republicans would have you believe is that Obama wants higher taxes. PLEASE! no one in their right mind wants higher taxes. We all want to keep as much money of what we earn as we can. Period. BUT, we are now in a place where we are each going to have to pony up a little bit more than we would like for a while in order to right the ship.

Part of me wonders if the republicans are just in their little DC bubble and can't see the forest for the trees or do they see it and don't care? Either way, it's nasty. If you were to get a tax cut--ie: your tax bill was lower this year and next would you just spend more? Right now? Hell no! people are socking it away. No one's job is secure. We're all worried. So, wouldn't it be better to spend the money upgrading and fixing our infrastructure? Giving our education and health system a boost? Fixing the roads? Doing some of these not just large-scale but enormous projects that we just haven't undertaken yet as a country? It's just insane that other countries are ahead of us in these things. Meanwhile, we just go out and buy more junk from China to fill up our own homes. Not investing in our children, our health and our communities.

So, are the republicans that dogmatic? That bitter about losing? That out of touch with the country and what is happening? Yes. And I guess the good news is this: Obama can put out his hand and hope that they extend theirs, but when they don't, they should not underestimate this man. He beat Hillary after they said it couldn't be done. And he did it calmly with a smile on his face. And then he went on and took down their candidate......the easier race of the two from my vantage. There were moments when we were sweating. When we would watch in horror as a black minister went off the rails. As the prom queen from Wasilla produced huge crowds and started picking up steam. But none of this ruffled them. And every time it happened, he just got better.
I know what Obama is capable of. The over exposure in this last week or two is just them getting their bearings. DC is a bubble. And especially the White House. As long as Obama can hear what we are talking about around our kitchen tables and on the street, he will navigate this thing. He will emerge the victor. AND, as long as Lindsey Graham and John Boener (don't you just want to call him Boner?) want to keep on with their vitriol, Obama can smile and stick the dagger in. Don't like our brand of bi-partisanship? That's ok. See what not having a real voice in this will do to you. See what silence is like. They will lose their voice in our country in the new politics so fast it will make George Bush and Dick Cheney seem like a footnote....ok, that's pushing it. We're still going to be cleaning up that bio-hazard for a while....but I can dream, can't I?