A Slap in the Face

The President has made it his personal business to deliver on one of his prime mandates--bipartisanship. He spent his time actually on Capitol Hill courting Republican support for the stimulus package as well as other issues. The package won success in a 244-to-188 without a single Republican vote. ( A SINGLE ONE) At least 11 democrats were courageous enough to go against their own party--erroneous as it might prove to be. They did have the guts to vote their beliefs or as they are supposed to, as their constituency urged them to vote. The President is taking this blow gracefully and with sincere hope for more bipartisan support in the Senate. However, let's not mistake this for one second. This is a clear indication that the President's honeymoon with the nation, its leaders and even the press is starting to take a turn. Party lines are thicker than they were during the election. It makes you wonder about what is really going on.
The Republicans are suddenly singing the same song and I, for one, am suspicious. After all, the bill was going to pass without Republic support and everyone knew this. It is pretty clear that it is not perfect and no relief effort will be perfect. However, this is an opportunity for those Republican's vying for re-election to say what they did and "did not" vote for in 2009. Why vote yes if you don't have to? The answer is because it the vote can prove controversial and useful a couple of years down the line. If this is the case, they had better placed their bets wisely. If this goes down in history, as it will, as the great initiative that saved millions of lives if not revived the economy, they will be left out of the picture.
One more thought, I myself, am still not settled on the stimulus package but the alternatives are no better. If there is one thing I understand is that the President needs to act, and act now. Real people are loosing real jobs. Prudence should have been exercised when we decided to start a war we can't afford to finish.