What a year
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s Massachusetts election, today’s anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration has been all but overloooked in the media, although some did start their analysis early, like The Economist suggesting it’s time for Obama to get tough, after a year of being….just adequate. And not altogether consistent with his promises.
“Mr Obama came to power proclaiming an end “to the petty grievances…that for far too long have strangled our politics†and to “the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so longâ€. By electing him, he said, Americans chose “unity of purpose over conflict and discordâ€. Alas, this was balderdash.”
And MSNBC says one year on, Americans are skeptical.
“When Barack Obama entered office, the expectations that he and others set for his presidency couldn’t have been higher…
“But as Obama wraps up his first full year in office, the American public has grown increasingly skeptical over his promises to change Washington and his “yes-we-can” agenda, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
“A plurality of Americans believe his health care overhaul is a bad idea; fewer than one in five are satisfied with the economy; just 30 percent give him good marks on changing business as usual in Washington; and a majority think he has accomplished “very little†or “only some†of his goals over the past 12 months.”
Here’s how hope and change has evolved in that time, manifested most visually in the stunning upset in Massachusetts placing Scott Brown in a seat occupied by a Kennedy for over 50 years.
“Independents, who appeared to swing for Mr. Brown in Massachusetts, tend to be more anti-incumbent than anti-Democrat. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows nearly six in 10 independent voters think it’s time to “give a new person a chance” rather than re-elect their representatives. About half of all voters feel that way.”
One year into the Obama presidency. It’s been a tough year for everybody.
0 Comment
I don’t want to be a downer, but I am not enthused about Scott Brown’s victory. Yes, Coakley was a disaster of a candidate, but Brown still supports the murder of innocent human beings, and as a Catholic, I cannot support him. I also could not support Coakley, which goes without saying. At the end of the day, if you are an unborn baby in Massachusettes, its still business as usual (i.e., say your prayers). Brown may vote against the health care boondoggle, but when push comes to shove, do we really trust a candidate who supports abortion and gay marriage? Really?
Since it had to be one or the other, he is the better choice. KJ Lopez and the editors of NRO have expressed some thoughts on this, including reservations and guarded optimism: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDVjMTcxMjUyMDJmZDY4MzVhYTcwZTNhNDJiYWExMDI
and
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTg0MWE5NzI1NTNkMGViMWU4YTAyZjk1NDViNmViMTQ=
I understand the argument, but I cannot buy it. My conscience would not allow me to vote for EITHER candidate, since one favoring immediate murder is really no better than the other who favors murdering with a delay. Its two different shades of gray at the end of the day. If I know a candidate is pro-abortion, no matter how “much”, I cannot vote for that candidate and receive the Eucharist. In my case, I simply could not vote or would have written in my own candidate. I will gladly be accused of “shirking duties” by refusing to elect a candidate the supports abortion. I am comfortable to stand before God with that. I wonder if pro-life Brown supporters are too?
For matters of full disclosure, there is no way I would have ever voted for Coakley either.
I fully respect your faithfulness to the teachings of the Church on the sanctity of all human life without exception. In these times of political and legal wrangling over laws governing abortion, it’s good to re-visit the encylical Pope John Paul II wrote addressing these challenges, Evangelium vitae. This came up in an earlier election: https://www.inforumblog.com/?p=356
It provides Catholics direction in confusing cultural and political times.
Thanks for engaging these issues and providing the opportunity to clarify teachings on faithful citizenship.