He Said, She Said

The constant campaign has a few tributaries. The latest to flow across my consciousness is the “response” gimmick. Perhaps the most famous of these is the opposition party’s response to the President’s State of the Union Address to Congress each year. The use of this device serves to perpetuate the feeling, the attitude, the bickering that is necessarily part and parcel of the campaign for office.

More bushlit, Fewer ideas

The problem, though, with putting Governor Jindal on after President Obama, or House Minority Whip Eric Cantor on after the President’s chief economic advisor Christina Romer is that it elevates the person rebutting, when they don’t have similar authority or credibility to speak. With David Gregory asking similar questions of the sloppy second, instead of clear understanding of what the President is going to do, we get muddle and confusion, partisan back and forth and a general feeling of frustration and rising despair, on both sides of the aisle. Democrats and those supporting the President’s plan correctly point out that the Republicans lost the election, had their economic policies as stated discredited, and that they are simply clinging to a strategy of saying no and hoping the President’s plans don’t succeed to the level he’s shooting for so they have something to crow about and campaign on in 2010. Republicants and those opposed to the President’s plans to resuscitate the economy, confront our enemies, supply aid to our allies complain that he’s spending too much money, he’s not cutting enough taxes, he’s not living up to his campaign promises, he’s not being bipartisan, and they are spouting bushlit about earmarks when they themselves are earmarking. Update: Arianna has a different take on this.

There are people elected, appointed, confirmed and charged with the the governance of our country. Then there are people clawing for power, not taking responsibilities for their past actions, constantly howling into the microphone instead of doing a little introspection and figuring out how to be helpful. They need to be quiet for a moment, stop reacting from their political corner, because they’re missing the point.

And the he said, she said is giving me a headache.