Obama's First Few Weeks: Ugh!

Obama's first few weeks have not exactly thrilled me.

He has sent signals that he is going to delay his promise to repeal "Don't Ask, Don' t Tell" until yet another study is done. We don't need another study.

He has embraced the Bush administration's secrecy policy to the dismay of the ACLU.

I think his plan to reach out to Republicans and fashion a bi-partisan stimulus bill is misguided. The problem is that, as Barney Frank said recently in a TV round table, there are two competing political ideologies in this country.

The conservative ideology championed by Republicans is characterized by a blind and complete faith in the free market, hatred of government, taxes, and a "let them eat cake" attitude toward the less fortunate. On the other hand, "liberal" Democrats are more inclined toward government regulation of the markets, they favor progressive taxation, and they favor social programs designed to help the less fortunate.

There really is no way to smush these two ideologies together in a bi-partisan way. That's why no Republicans in the House voted for Obama's stimulus plan, and only three "moderate" Republican senators voted for the senate version, and then only after many worthy programs were cut from it. Obama seems to be naive in his desire for bi-partisanship. Now he's on the road doing the hard sell after the failure of his efforts to attract Republicans to support his stimulus bill.

He has already failed Presidency 101.

Jim