The Fools On The Hill -- Plus You and Me

This week, President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address.

As is customary, unfortunately, he will no doubt tell the gathered members of Congress, his Cabinet, and the Supreme Court that the state of the union is "strong"...that things are fundamentally "fine."

This is unfortunate because I fear that the state of our union is not fundamentally fine, nor is it at all strong.

We live instead in a tragic, bickering society, filled with noise from malcontents and wannabes. The politically active segment is divided neatly into camps that wage rhetorical wars in order to avoid any serious discussion of issues.

The White House itself, reeling from losing a Senate seat in Massachusetts, of all places, is said to be striking a "populist" tone now.

But, as Dan Balz, one of the best political reporters out there, despite a long career inside the Washington Post, correctly notes, Obama has long positioned himself as "the antithesis of the class warrior."

So Obama has a problem. Besides, there have long been two populist traditions in the U.S. -- one on the left and one on the right.

In today's political conversation,furthermore,"populist" on the right connotes a jiggly fat drug addict who soils himself while broadcasting -- that he has any influence whatsoever only illustrates the psychological immaturity of the so-called "right" segment of the American political system.

This is not a movement, it is not a community, it is not any kind of legitimate voice, but it is loud.

Why?

Screaming sells, and to a media industry (which I cover closely) that is desperate for ad dollars, whatever sells will be given a voice, even if it treads dangerously close to provoking assassinations and hate crimes, which is what the right in this country apparently seeks to accomplish.

Meanwhile, as Balz again notes: "Obama...is trying to quell anger that points in two directions at once."

The current "left" is similarly a-historical. Too many on the left have equated their political sympathies with government-based solutions. Long-time readers of my blog know I am no friend of Big Government. Bureaucracies makes things worse more often than not. It is crime to delay action in a world where people starve and commit suicide due to lack of access to the resources they need to support their families.

Every suffering addict out there on the street owes at least part of his misery to the government bureaucrats who collect money in his name but do nothing to help him.

No, there is no "strong" union on this continent, unless you count Canada. The U.S. is in truly pathetic condition, ruled by weak leaders. I have not yet lost all hope in Obama, and I am sure he will deliver an uplifting speech Wednesday night, but I'm not sure his words can or should be enough any longer.

As I noted repeatedly during the 2008 campaign, he is a centrist and a pragmatist. At the time, I'd hoped this kind of approach to American policy debates would be healing, after the Age of Idiocy, as coordinated by the very smart yet very evil Dick Cheney.

I was wrong. The fools on the hill have spoken. They will also speak Wednesday night. They will clap, they will nod. They will smile or frown, it makes no difference.

None of them are working for you or for me.

The sad irony is that there is one man genuinely in our employ and that is Obama, but neither you nor I nor any other American has the guts to reward him for that truth.

It is a dark day to be an American, for this is a country dripping with shame, greed, dishonesty, and an utter lack of purpose. We can listen to our young President's words; but I fear none of us will have the courage to act.

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