Everyone Has a Bad Day

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is one of my favorite people.  He is witty, and I believe, attempts to answer questions honestly, and respects the people who day after day hurl questions at him, hoping to get an answer that will make news, if not make Gibbs' day. 

But just as with flight attendants, even White House Press Secretaries have an occasional bad day.

Call it a consequence of the dog days of summer.

But Gibbs' controversial attack on the left needs to be examined by the White House, because it represents an attitude that has caused Obama's supporters on the left concern for awhile.

We understood the Wall Street bailout, coming during the changing of the administration, but we wondered why this literally golden opportunity to curb the wild extravagances of salaries and risk-taking was passed up.

When our President, who we thought was horrified by the abuses in Iraq and Afganistan, from prisoner abuse to Halliburton's bilking of the government, did not step up to demand a thorough investigation, we were dumbfounded.

And when Barack Obama did not stand up and use his bully pulpit to demand a public option, but allowed Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to struggle for months in the fight against one of the ugliest Republican Congressional blocks ever, we began to be infuriated.

And then our President, who we believed in with our hearts and souls, told us that we needed to be more willing to accept compromise.

I hate hearing the poll numbers.  Yet I understand them.  I too distrust the Congress, but like many Americans, it is because attempts to compromise have resulted in ever more inaction, in a time where not just action, but dramatic action, is demanded.

And I too, if asked, would have to say I am disappointed in President Obama's performance.  When he has stood up against his opposition, he has had some amazing accomplishments.   But the opposition is ferocious.  And uncompromising.  And we need a leader who will be consistent in his support for the goals and values he declared in his campaign.

So, no, I don't get my critical attitude from Olbermann or Maddow.  It comes from the same place Obama got his critical values, the ones that made him want to run for office and effect change.  Our ideals were once the same, and the White House needs to get back in touch with that.

And Robert, if you do that, I will forgive you your bad day.   

Shakespeare and Palin Aren't the Only Ones

Jim Demint gets apoplectic over what he calls the "Death Tax".  I remember back when it was called the "Estate Tax", because the tax is actually on the estates of the deceased.  Now those of us who don't know too much about the government, myself included, were afraid that when we died, the government would take our homes and every penny we had saved up for our children and grandchildren.

Not true.  The estate tax is only on the very wealthy.  It's called an estate tax because the very wealthy tend to live in "estates". It is a tax on those who have lived well in this country, and have now died well.  I like to think of it as paying it forward.  You know, back to the country that provided the fertile ground for your wealth, and keeping that ground fertile for others.

Now I don't know how many of those houses that John McCain owns that he really needs, but I'll bet after he goes he won't need that many.  But he and Jim Demint are fighting to keep every one of them in the family.

Jim Demint is an ad man.  A very successful one.  He and his colleagues invent phrases like "death tax" to scare us.  It has worked.

Don't let him scare you this time.


Alvin Greene doesn't know a lot of big words.  He doesn't have a staff or lobbyists to help him invent phrases intended to manipulate and control.


Visit his website and add your support:


www.alvingreeneforussenator.com


While you're online, send a message to Jim Demint.  Tell him to stop voting for the wealthy and powerful corporations that hoard their fortunes rather than reinvest in our country and our people, and that pay to keep him in office so that they can continue to hoard their fortunes, even after they're gone. 

 

All about the Dough?

With so little cash, you're not going to hear much from Alvin Greene.

With so much cash, you won't hear much from Jim Demint, either.  He's figuring this election is a slam dunk.  He'll be stumping in other states, to re-elect those no taxes/ government-services-for-the-wealthy-only candidates.  Oh, he might stop by for a photo op with Nikki Haley, the Mark Sandford sound-alike.

But the fact is, Jim Demint cares more about corporate power and what it can do for him than about helping the people in South Carolina who are struggling to find work and educate their children.

Alvin Greene believes in the workers of South Carolina, and believes in helping the workers in South Carolina get back on their feet.

Without corporate help.

www.alvingreeneforussenator.com 

Check it out.