The current White House occupant triumphantly reigns over the United States like no other. He succeeded in accomplishing his agenda while simultaneously leaving his opponents dazed, confused, and delusional. Is there anything that can stop him now? It seems unlikely.

Health care was said to be a Waterloo. It turned out to be a rallying cry. A vast government framework is now the law of the land thanks to the help of the president’s allies in Congress. He signed the measure amid the pomp and circumstance of a coronation and rightly so. All previous attempts to seize control of this sector of the American economy had failed. Despite bold efforts by the opposition to stop him, including their election triumph in Massachusetts, the president won. His victory was assured when a single senator from Maine buckled, a move that paved the way for the president’s moment of glory. For all the blather about repeal and defunding, no such thing will happen. ObamaCare is a vise the president and his party will use to squeeze the life out of their enemies.

Before health care, there was the stimulus bill, hundreds of billions of dollars spent to no effect except to prop up states friendly to the president. There were a few roads and bridges repaired. Signs costing millions heralded this bit of infrastructure improvement. Although precious few jobs were created (or saved), the president pounded home the message that without nearly a trillion dollars dumped down the hole, it would have been terribly worse. The willing press and mind-numb electorate bought that one hook, line, and sinker. Not many asked where the money was coming from.

According to the Treasury, two trillion dollars worth of liabilities hit the balance sheet since the president took the oath. No worries, says the man, now is the time for responsible spending. Wow! Look at this ability to pivot, from a free-spending Charlie on stimulus and health care to a tight-fisted miser in the blink of an eye. But wait, there’s more hidden behind door number 3.

Things might have looked bleak for the White House for a few months as the economy faltered and an election was touted as a repudiation of policy. However, hardly were the votes counted than the president’s victory streak continued. No, his trillion-plus-dollar-budget didn’t make it, but it doesn’t matter because no spending cuts were implemented either. While American’s fretted over turkey dinners and what to buy the kids for Christmas with more borrowed money, a treaty with the Russians passed the senate. Never mind that it hamstrings vital defense initiatives. The treaty’s passage gives the man with no foreign policy experience a strong leg to stand on. He brokered a deal with none other than the big Russian Bear. Furthermore, he dragged a few fence sitters in the Senate to his side to get it passed. This achievement makes him a serious player on the world stage, a bipartisan broker of record. Even the Germans think so as reported in their press. And if they like you, you have to be good.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell also limped through the Senate. Chalk that up to a president who was against gay marriage in the election but now brags about his support for homosexual rights. Here the White House has proven to be particularly clever by agreeing to some extent but still disagreeing enough to tiptoe through all the tulips of this divisive social minefield. The guy is amazing.

Finally there are the administrative power grabs. The FCC now rules the internet. The FDA has asserted its power in the food industry. And the EPA is about to slam the power-generators with its massive fist. The alphabet soup was made by the president and implemented by his appointees. He deserves all the credit for keeping a tight lid on these sectors, surely the sign of an executive who knows what he’s doing.

The current president stands above all others as a man of great power. He has injected his philosophy deeply into the body politic, leading to a genetic re-engineering of America’s governing agencies. He has emboldened and released those lurking elements of the bureaucracy that have been dormant and now see the opportunity to flex their muscles. How strong they are!

There is but one thing that will stop the president from achieving his wildest dreams. It is not the newly elected members of Congress and future presidential candidates who crow about how they will dismantle his policies. It is not a gaggle of talk-radio hosts vowing to melt the airwaves with vitriol. It is not a supposedly angry electorate gathered to make their voices heard. None of these, nor a thousand others, stand in his way. The only barrier he cannot surmount is the cost. If it comes soon enough (and there is no guarantee that it will) the invoice for his largesse will ruin not only his presidency but the nation.

Then again, a clever fellow like him will most likely find a way to blame someone else, proving once again his unerring greatness.

Tweet  Print This Post

Tags: money, politics & government // Add Comment »