Make Up Your Mind Already

Being a little bit of a political junkie, I watched some of the State of the Union speech, and more of the after-speech comments. I continue to be amazed by the level of idiocy to which some will stoop, and the free pass that is given to them when they do it.

Last night, after the speech, the Democrats complained about a number of things. Two significant things stand out to me: 1) Bush is spending too much money; 2) Bush is not spending enough money. What??? They need to make up their minds. You cannot have it both ways.

Of course, the Democrats are not alone. Bush claimed to want to cut spending and make government smaller. He has made this claim for about seven years now (since he started campaigning). But so far, he has managed to preside over the largest government expansion in history. He has yet to veto one spending bill (or one other bill for that matter). In fact, while claiming to want to cut the budget last night, he pledged to increase federal spending in many categories. You cannot have it both ways.

The out of control budget is a major concern. We need some leaders. We need some people who will stand up and say "You can't have it both ways." The media seems too scared to confront either side on this issue.

The media likes to beat stories into the ground. Why not beat this double standard into the ground for a few weeks? If Bush, the Repubs, and Dems want to cut spending, then hold their feet to the fire.

Of course, this reveals the true nature of politics: "We are against it because they're for it." "He's spending too much money" means "He's not spending it where we want him to spend it." "He's cutting too much spending" means "He's not spending it where we want him to spend it."

Case in point: For years, the Dems said social security was in trouble. (These comments are part of the public record.) Until Bush got elected. Now the Dems claim that social security is fine.

Well, make up your mind already. Which is it? You want social security reform until you have to hand the opposition president a victory to get it? That is pure politics.

For years, the Republicans complained about high spending. Until Bush got elected. With federal spending at an all time high, the Repubs just keep on writing checks.

We need leaders. We have talkers. We have a mess.