President Obama's "Dog and Pony Show"?

My favorite Republican, Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and former U.S. Maryland senatorial candidate (see links to my previous blog posts on Mr. Steele through the title above) declared yesterday morning on MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown" that President Barack Obama should have held his "dog and pony show"--the gathering yesterday at Blair House to bring together Congressional leaders of both parties--a whole year ago, when the Congressional Democratics began their effort to craft national health care reform legislation.

Specifically, Mr. Steele stated:

"This whole dog and pony show that we're about to witness today is something that should have taken place a year ago, when the administration first came in last February and laid out its agenda for health care. This is how you should have started it - bipartisan, public forum, CSPAN, your cameras rolling to capture this and to capture, most importantly, what the American people want. And right now, they want us to start over, and I think we should."

Of course, given Mr. Steele's scathing and dismissive characterization of the President's effort to enable bipartisanship on health care as "this whole dog and pony show," presumably the Republican national chairman would have thought such an event a year ago would have been equally of little consequence.

Reminded by "Daily Rundown" hosts Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie that President Barack Obama did indeed convene a similar forum on March 5 of last year in Baltimore, an "Oh" moment occurred for Steele showing how well briefed he was (an African-American Sarah Palin?). Todd stated, "And it wasn't just the legislative leaders. They brought in folks from the industry as well. And that one was televised. So. . . does that one not count? I'm just curious."

Steele replied lamely, "Well, apparently it didn't. Because we don't have health care. And we don't have reform like everyone is talking about."

The RNC Chairman was also asked why Republicans had not tried to enact health care during the eight years that Republicans had the majority under President George W. Bush. Well, replied Steele we had things like the Iraq War to worry about.

Oh, again.

Yes, indeed, if Bush had not led us into the ruinously expensive Iraq War that has not made America any safer, we might have the resources for things such as affordable health care that Americans need!



























Dreaming of Spring!!!!!


Blessed Are The Lawnmakers
(Dedicated to Senator Grassley of Iowa)

Every politician on the stump
(tree stump, that is) promises
much. They speak of high ideals,
gaze toward the purple horizon
and survey the lordly forest.

When they reach the Capitol
in Washington, they mutate
into Lawnmakers: bugs lost
among the blades of grass
unable to see the trees.




And Baseball season. . . . and Poetry, perhaps?


My Belated Confession

I admit it -- I cheated: I took steroids
-- they helped me to win all those awards,
the Pushcart, the Pulitzer, and the Nobel
-- even if it's ignoble of me to admit it.

Although I claimed that I took no stimulants
(here, I dab my eye) I've let down my family,
all my fans and all aspiring poets who believe
they can reach the pinnacle without a fix.

I confess, I doped myself up real fine. . .
I deserve to be stripped of everything.
For my success, anonymity I would trade.

My megalomaniac malice was incontestible,
my artful duplicity all too contemptible:
I fully deserve the world's tirade.

Christopher T. George