Monday, June 25, 2007

Approval Ratings and Where They Come From

I was looking at the President's approval ratings and the approval ratings of Congress. All are dismally low and no one from either party should jump up and down for joy. These dismally low approval ratings are reflective of how people are really feeling. There are looming huge issues facing us and our nation's leaders are failing miserably.

First and foremost the wars. I use the word wars (plural) very intentionally. When World War II first became a part of our day to day reality the President attempted not to have too much press given to the war, to casualties, etc., under the belief that people would be mortified to see how many people were dying. Then President Roosevelt reverse his decision on this (this would be called a flip flop nowadays, when you change policies because you have changed your mind....and maybe gotten some insight!). He reversed his policy because he wanted the nation to know deep in their guts that we were at war and this war was painful and brutal. People had to sacrifice for the sake of the war.

We are a nation at war in two nations and we are simply not facing the fact that we are at war in two nations and our troops are in harm's way every day. And...there are not enough of our soldiers and this is not equipment in either place. Despite political spins, no one is saying the really dreadful thing that may be on the horizon. We are falling behind in both regions and the painful reality is we may end up losing not one war but two. Neither Congress nor the President has been willing to have a Caput colonectomy in order to really address this.

Has anyone noticed that the real estate market is a disaster?

We are paying record high prices for gasoline and oil companies are making record high profits. Is their a correlation and why is no one really addressing this?

The really thing, however, is that basic services are not taking place. Incompetence reigns supreme.

The EPA approved a few years ago, New York City air and water to be clean and good post 9/11. Record numbers of people are getting or have gotten ill from the toxins that filled the air. Scraps of human remains have been found filling potholes in NYC streets. The former mayor of New York, who is running for President, assured people this would not happen. It did. The former head of the EPA, Christie Todd Whitman assured people that the air and water was safe. It wasn't even close.

Katrina was a disaster. It remains so. Other than Hellofajob Brownie the same cast of characters is still in place and New Orleans remains a mess.

The State Department handles passports. Read the news.

The worst thing, however, is that we do not seem to be safer. Somehow we are being led to believe that taking our shoes off and emptying baby's sippy cups is preventing terrorist attacks.

The problems loom and our political leaders in DC play games with one another and put their party's goals as more important than the nation's needs. Both parties.

The low approval ratings are EARNED!!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kind of a downer today John