The First 100 Days: What Did You Do?

Barack Obama was largely elected in response to the failures of the Bush administration. Has he or is he on his way to fixing anything? If so, what? Today we complete the first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency and look back to see what we learned and how everyone has performed so far.

The Citizens of the US, Grade C+ (But YOU get an A)

Several important questions come to mind in the midst of a rapidly growing federal government that spoon feeds record profits for the defense, security, oil, banking, organized crime and pharmaceutical industries:

1) Is the government regulating industry or is it a tool of industry?

2) Why are the profits increasing for these industries while the quality of their work decreases? (ie, we have an increase in terrorism, war, bad banking, oil supply disruptions and illnesses)?

3) Does the president control the government or do industry and the government control the president?

4) How can we change things?

Is the general public asking any of these questions? I think more-so than usual, yes, thus the increase in political blogs. Most blogs, this one included somewhat, are however constantly reacting to what we're handed as opposed to driving agendas.

I understand the answers to 1-3:

1) Is the government regulating industry or is it a tool of industry?

 We've seen a slight improvement in this area under Barack Obama, but the government has been a tool of industry until we see otherwise. The Wall Street that sabotaged us, with ties to organized crime,  was catered to, without the promised oversight and just ahead of record profits. There is still hope for change in this area under a Barack Obama administration, but let's focus on the reality over the perceptions that the speeches leave us with.

2) Why are the profits increasing for these industries while the quality of their work decreases?

These are businesses, not altruistic entities. The government is giving them money but not demanding results or providing oversight. Was Iraq a failure or a success? A huge success for many companies. Ask questions. Use logic. Think for yourself. Be brave and vigilant. Ignore the alleged wisdom of crowds.

3) Does the president control the government or do industry and the government control the president?

When a puppet like Bush Jr is president, the answer is obvious, but even with someone who seeks to be a strong leader like Barack Obama, the balance may tilt a bit toward the president, but not by much. Just recently NYC's Ground Zero was buzzed by the US military without Barack Obama's knowledge. He is alleged to be furious.

4) How can we change things?

I don't have the answer other than what I've posted on this blog. Throughout history there has been a battle between the powerless many and the powerful few. US Democracy seemed to be the most recent evolution and response to this dilemna. It had been working quite well until financial entities became more powerful than governments. (For an entertaining comedy on the subject, see the movie Network.) In my opinion, in broadstroke, the nation did well to elect Barack Obama, but then expected Barack Obama to fix everything without giving enough time or input to the problems at hand. Are we now on the way to global government? Many might think that's a good idea, but isn't government today a misnomer? Until governments actually regulate and police the large-scale "bad guys" they are tools for them.

I know this: that we can change ourselves without government and that we can affect government by making our own culture, but that as a society many of us are too addicted to the culture that is made for us; we're too tired, we're too busy, we're too lazy. I can be guilty of these things as well, though I strive not to be.

A C+ is a bit rough, but as the world evolves, what we need to do becomes greater. Every reader of this blog and every post from readers of this blog gets an A, regardless of whether I agreed or not. Simply by taking the time to read what I shared or pointed to and to post your thoughts is being involved and does make a difference. Society is viral. You have affected me and that's one more independent input coming from a human being and not an industry. For that, I thank you....very much. I only needed one reader to motivate myself to write. We don't all need to be leaders of society, but if we're leaders of our own lives and always step up just a bit more, we'll always increase our opportunities for positive change.

The Federal Government, Grade F

The federal government is a huge place and most of it remains in place from president to president. During the past 100 days we heard that Dick Cheney essentially had a second chain of command running up to him, which included an assasination ring and with personnel that are still working against Barack Obama from within the government. There seems to be a never ending battle within the cowboy world of intelligence agencies; with one hand of the government fighting the other, one hand hurting the US and the other trying to help it. The size of it increases as it becomes more and more privatized. The contract process has not changed, with no bid contracts (no competition) and cost+ contracts (incentivized to run over budget) still being the norm. Despite rhetoric in Obama's speeches, there is still little to no oversight anywhere in government. It's as if the politicians and department heads mereley serve to distribute contracts while putting on a good show for the public.

Barack Obama, Grade B-

The campaign speeches Barack Obama gave in that amazing and inspiring hard-working campaign he ran indicated that he knew what the problems in our country were -- he talked about corruption, he pointed out that the Iraq occupation had empowered Iran and made Israel weaker and he even mentioned the contract process I mentioned above. Some of his critics said that he was nothing more than a master politician. I have not been thrilled by his presidency yet. I do think he's an improvement over Bush, but if you raise a plane up by 20 degrees that is heading downward at 45 degrees, the plane is still going downward. 

On the positive, Obama has improved perceptions of the US simply by using the bully pulpit and sounding intelligent and rational. He's tackling the deep economic problems with a stimulus package I agree with (I wasn't however a fan of the bailouts -- let bad businesses fail). What about wars for profit? What about regulations? Oversight that was promised? Why is he protecting the Bush administration's secrets?

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) on Tuesday released a report card-style review of the Obama administration’s progress in overturning President Bush’s controversial national security measures, giving President Obama high marks for most actions except for a “troubling” use of secrecy.

We need more. He has time, but I believe he needs our help. He's going to respond to the loudest voices. Who are those going to be?