An Awful First Year

National Review ^ | January 4, 2009 | Conrad Black

[rightwingintelligentsia]

This has been an astonishing presidential year. President Obama bounded into office with a quiver full of soft-pointed arrows for every policy area. A whole year has been wasted buying, senator by senator and influential congressmen one at a time, a health-care bill that is almost certain to be hideously expensive and to lower the level of health care for millions of people. The key was to unite the payer to the consumer, so there was some incentive for reducing costs without rationing access, and reducing the attached legal costs, and the administration failed both tests. Organized labor was protected in its medical-benefit sinecures and, for good measure, the UAW was rewarded for decades of greed and shoddy work habits by being handed most of the detritus of the U.S. auto industry.

The stimulus bill was $787 billion of straight political payoffs to prominent Democrats close to the next election and will be more a retardant than a stimulus; it has already failed every prediction of job creation its sponsors made for it. Workfare employs people; stimulus removes as much stimulation in borrowed money as it generates.

Cap-and-trade was an insane concept from the start, and after being greased through the House in a way that assured heavy costs to American homeowners, it emerged as not likely to reduce carbon emissions, nor to raise government revenues. It has died an unhonored death before arrival at the Senate and been banished to an unmarked grave.

[goodnesswins]

bump

[ChicagoConservative27]

Bump part II.

[Taggart_D]

"The key was to unite the payer to the consumer"

The only way to do that is through capitalism....not redistribution.

[oyez]

For 2010, what is worse than awful?

I would recomend that BHO read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Wreck of the Hesperus".

[Lady Jag]

An awful first year for us. The Obama’s have had an awesome first year traveling and playing in ultimate luxury. You’re just jealous.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

For 2010, what is worse than awful?

Annus horribilus?

[rcrngroup]

An awful first year for us. The Obama’s have had an awesome first year traveling and playing in ultimate luxury. You’re just jealous.

You're absolutely right!!! 0bozo & his number one predator wife maBelle michelle, have had a fantastic year, starting with a $174 Million inaugral extravaganza that dwarfed any prior president's inauguration by over 4X. Then going onto his Porkulus bill of $787 B, his omnibus spending bill of $410 B, his weekend jaunts onn AF1 to anywhere in the country costing taxpayers millions of dollars, his date nights with maBelle costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, his non-stop campaigning to push his own socialist-commie agenda, his Wednesday night cocktail parties with Kobe beef flown in from Japan, his weekend golfing outings and he still is a horrible sh_tty golfer, and the list just goes on & on.

0bozo & his ugly phat ass wife maBelle, just LOVE the unbridled opulance & glitter of being pres____ent of the country, and raping our country in the meantime, all paid for by the American taxpayers. The 0bozo's love having white (caucasian) house slaves and I believe they think it is perfect payback time.

I believe that 0bozo is a delusional, egotistical, arrogant, narcissistic, delusional (again), madman in the White House. I hope that God in heaven will someday make this commie pig usurper & arrogant, prideful, liar to eat grass & live as a wild beast in the field, even as he did to Nebuchadnezzar several thousand years ago.

[oyez]

Annus horribilus?

One too many N's.

[luvie]

.....and everyone but him paying for his indulgencies!

[potlatch]

Very true LJ!

[Conspiracy Guy]

AP: In a rare trip to the White House today Barack Obama announced that he, his family, and a few close advisors would be departing on January 15th on a trip to the International Space Station.

[They'reGone2000]

Thanks for taking the time to type what I’ve been thinking!

[Texas resident]

Affirmative Action taken to it’s farthest point.

How’s that hopey changey thing working so far barry?

[hinckley buzzard]

Health Savings Accounts together with high deductible catastrophic coverage. Buy-ins for the poverts. Nothing for illegals. Tort limits. Portability. National availability. Coverage of pre-existing conditions, for a price. That about covers it.

[VOA]

“
Annus horribilus?
“

Just invert the two words of the phrase...and most Americans would
get the idea about our current Messiah.

Even if they never spent a minute studying Latin.

[HiTech RedNeck]

1) Awful
2) Horrible
3) Execrable
4) Damnable
5) Relief aka Sarah Palin

[Running On Empty]

So—what else don’t you like about Obama?

:-)