The Conservative Cat

The Obama Administration became its own punchline over the weekend when the President called the New York Times to explain that he didn't mean to not say that he wasn't a socialist.

And no, the punchline is not the goofy nature of explaining that you didn't mean to not deny something, it's the fact that Obama feels he's simply continuing the policies of George W. Bush, and since everybody knows that George W. Bush is not a socialist, Barack Obama is not a socialist. Or, in the President's own words.

I did think it might be useful to point out that it wasn’t under me that we started buying a bunch of shares of banks. It wasn’t on my watch. And it wasn’t on my watch that we passed a massive new entitlement -– the prescription drug plan -- without a source of funding.

This marks the second time in less than a week that Obama has justified his behavior on the basis that it is just continuing what Bush started: the first related to his philosophy on earmarks.

So, the American people voted for change, and as far as the economy's concerned, Obama is telling us that the change is George W. Bush bigger, longer, and uncut. Not only that, he felt compelled to take time out of his busy schedule to point this out. It must be important.

The reason this is happening is that the change Obama represents is not a change of policy, but a change of face. Everything about him, from the casual declaration that his victory justifies his policies to the attacks on Rush Limbaugh's opposition reflects an understanding that we elected Obama the man, not Obama's ideas. It's like buying a car because you like the salesman.

That kind of thinking gets you a bad car, and an even worse government.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat