Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Mr. Slick Goes to Washington?

Who is this guy?  The one that almost half of likely voters say they want to be President.  Who in the world are they voting for?

Is it Newt Mitt, the severe conservative?  Is it Mr. Slick, the Etch-a-Sketchy man?  David Brooks, a conservative (though perhaps not severely conservative) columnist for the New York Times offers this opinion in his Wednesday conversation with Gail Collins:

 There are 37 different Mitt Romneys. Once in the White House, they are scheduled to appear sequentially, day-by-day, depending on the lunar calendar, with adjustments made for leap years, months that begin with the letter “M,” and the forthcoming primary schedule.

There will be rotating White House staffs to go with each different Mitt. For example, Treasury Secretary Robert Zoellick will alternate with Treasury Secretaries Donald Trump and Ralph Reed.

It's funny, but it's not.  He has changed position on almost everything, and often enough changed back, usually denying that he's changed at all.  Much of what he has specifically promised to do, he can't do.  He can't get rid of Obamacare on Day One--it can't be done.  His tax plan is a joke.  It's all smoke and mirrors. 

Who is he?  How would he respond in a crisis?  We don't know.  What will he do on issues of church and state separation?  We don't know--we certainly don't know what the effect of his religion will be on him--and its discrimination and other questionable doctrines.

So what will he do?  Will he bomb Iran or won't he?  Will he be Cheney Lite?  Will he kill Medicare--that's pretty likely--and functionally destroy Medicaid--even more likely.  But he'll do it in a nice way.  With a saleman's smile.

Just about the only thing we know for sure is that he will appoint a Supreme Court Justice who will be the vote necessary to criminalize abortion in the United States. 

Something else we know: he doesn't care about the Climate Crisis.  He's just not interested.  He's not much interested in green energy, which is the same as saying he's not much interested in the American economic future or more particularly, the future of civilization.

This is not a reality show anymore, you voters at home.  This is about the most powerful office in the world.  And way too many voters seem to be flirting with hiring an empty suit for the job.  And ditching a President who, if not already among the great Presidents, easily could be. 

And what a message that would be.  Keep your promises, save Detroit, stop bin Laden and cripple al queda, save the American economy and probably the world economy in the process, re-set America's role in the world after the Bush-Cheney disaster, end one war and start ending the other, end torture, enact something very close to universal healthcare that will saves lives and boost the economy,  provide more to jumpstart green energy than in all the presidencies of the past combined while still increasing domestic oil production, reduce the debt, and in many other ways start turning this huge ship of state around in a better direction--and for all that get turned out of office because somebody new showed up who lies with every breath, and every nod of his spray-tanned hair-dyed head.  A good example for future candidates.

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