Commentary: The Two Faces of Barack Obama
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Obama sides with fat cats and corporate donors to turn clean air and water into green money
Barack Obama has once again betrayed his base and the health of his own nation by caving to big business and corporate fat cats, just like his Republican friends. Never has there been a time in my life when I have wished I could take back a vote. Our president, you see, has decided that smog, smoke, soot and carbon dust are just OK!
This is true. President Barack Obama has just declared SMOG something we can put up with until the next time the Republicans change their mind.
Sadly, it’s too late to set a new course. Chances are Obama will be with us for the next election cycle, and I suppose, barely, he will be better than one of his brother Republicans who are at least out of the closet.
From the moment he failed to push for a better health care bill, to the Deepwater Horizon spill, to an odd way of approaching a collapsing economy, I have had suspicions about Obama. I denied them because I am a loyal guy, who believes in giving breaks and accepting that all new things need time to master.
The fact is Obama has two faces. The face of the liberal who gives great speeches, the public face, and the face of the closeted Republican who shakes the hands of John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Right Wing Rat Pack.
To say I am disappointed is to understate the way I really feel. If I could ask the president a question it might be:
“Mr. President! Who are you?”
Here is the summary of the latest Barack Obama betrayal:
Environmentalists are reeling today after President Obama backed away from a plan to enact stricter ozone pollution standards on Friday. First, the State Department gave preliminary support to a pipeline last week that’s slated to carry tar sands oil to the Gulf Coast from Canada—and now this. “There is shock and chaos here,” said a director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, “so I do not know” how the environmental movement will wage political battles against a president it once deemed a staunch ally, the New York Times reports.
No, green advocates won’t side with Republicans instead—their aggressive anti-environmentalist action in the House and rhetoric on the campaign trail ensure that—but Obama could face subtler problems. Volunteer enthusiasm may wane, and, says one green advocate, the “emerging narrative that he is caving too quickly to Republican pressure” could grow. Another advocate admits greenies may need to fight harder, pile “the pressure on,” and realize “playing nicey-nice won’t work.”
Did you vote for BHO? Do you regret it? I don’t because I would never have voted for McCain over Obama, but I wish we had better choices. Did you ever wonder what he’ll do next? How about privatizing social security or figuring out a way to outlaw abortion? None of these things would surprise me.
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First, the State Department gave preliminary support to a pipeline last week that’s slated to carry tar sands oil to the Gulf Coast from Canada…
I think this tar sand route was similar to Perry’s planned, privately funded “super highway” linking Mexico, America, and Canada. Salon called the highway mythical, but I’m not sure that’s true.
Re: the tar sands pipeline: Is this the real NAFTA Superhighway?
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/16/tar_sands_canada_pipeline
Yes, I’m pissed off about it. Do I regret voting for Obama: no. Not considering the havoc that a McCain/Palin presidency would have caused. Then, again, it would have given the Democratic Congress more fodder with which to fight.
I’ve always wondered what would have happened if the ticket were reversed and Joe Biden had been president… never thought I’d see the day when I would miss Tricky Dick…
… Is 2012 an ominous year…?
I’m torn about this one Peter, although I’m also pissed off, because I didn’t know about it. What possible reason could there be for cutting back on clean air?