Peeling Paint

Events are rapidly overtaking any past positions that may have been taken. Our continuing obsession with blaming former leaders is sounding increasingly hollow. Yes, I have often said that had we elected John McCain, things would now be worse. I still believe that. For one thing, the Left's blaming of Bush's policies (and characterizing McCain as more of the same) would now still carry considerable weight. As it is, the Left in America is increasingly stuck with having to defend its own record, which now too sounds hollow and wrongheaded. In fact, what the Left has managed to accomplish since Obama's euphoric election - and even before, since taking majorities in congress (in 2007) - is now roundly seen as having been ineffective to the point of making George W. Bush's presidency look good.

The truth is that neither party has had much to offer, and both share in the blame. The way forward is at best painful. It is time to call on all the American people to sacrifice, something that Bush, to his eternal discredit, has never dared to do. His mantra after 9/11 was to continue as before. Never mind that the economy was already reeling. Ditto, our foreign policy. He, as president, must have known the score. Yet, he gave no indication that there were problems out there that needed be brought to our attention.

Perhaps, Bush - like the Democrats - did not want to alarm us. Perhaps he was hoping for a Deus ex machina event orchestrated by a higher power. Perhaps he, like a good father, did not relish the thought of bringing his work home for the family to deal with. That was a mistake. We are not children. We would have understood that we can't go on as we have. It would have involved no more than a straight-forward discussion about household finances. Instead, we were told everything is fine.

Everything was not fine. Nothing is fine now. Anyone claiming it is, is lying. Anybody claiming that a fix will be easy, is lying as well. The one positive thing that Obama has managed is inadvertently allowing us to see the paint peeling off our gilded walls.