Sunday, April 19, 2009
Don’t blame it on Bush
EDITOR:
President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress are fond of saying that they inherited all the problems they now face, and all such problems are the result of the Bush administration. That is pure poppycock.
Not that the Bush administration did not cause some of our problems. Some were thrust upon us by our enemies, but many, if not most, were the result of our representatives in Congress. A president, including the current one, cannot pass a law, raise a dime, or spend a dime. Those things can only be done by Congress. The actions or inactions of our Congress have consequences, and when those consequences are bad our representatives are great at pointing a finger at someone else.
Examples of egregious congressional consequences are the AIG bonuses after the bailout money was provided to them. A loophole in the law, which allowed that to happen, was introduced into law by Sen. Dodd. The senator said he introduced the loophole at the request of an Obama administration official. If Sen. Dodd and Obama had been Republicans, this Congress would have had several investigative committees wanting to know who said what and when. No finder pointing on this one.
This president and the current Congress not only volunteered, but spend millions upon millions of dollars campaigning saying they knew the problems and were up to solving them. Now is the time to stop pointing fingers and do what you said, or admit the problems are over your head and you’re not bright as you often pretended to be.
DONALD G. BAKER
Youngstown