The Coronation of the Candy Man

Oh, who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

The recent coronation – and that’s the right word for it – of Obama as the king of the United States, and the Candy Man in chief, held few surprises. 

The media gushed over Michelle’s new look, the cuteness of the kids, and Obama’s “bold” call for a second-term agenda, pretty much in that order.  They noted that he forcefully defended spending and entitlements, and claimed we are in fact not becoming a nation of “takers,” despite all evidence to the contrary. 

Oh, and they went positively gaga over the first time any President used the word “gay” in an inaugural address.  Once again, symbolism triumphs substance – it will be interesting to see how many gay Americans remember that this is the same guy who was opposed to same-sex marriage when he was running the first time.  Now he’s okay with it, so never mind …

Meanwhile, most in the media made no mention that he never once brought up the debt or the ballooning deficits, or the state of the economy.  Maybe the three biggest issues you’d expect him to address.  Go figure.

This should give you a clue to how far in the tank they are for this guy.   As if you didn’t know. 

Get ready for four more years of the same. 

So expect them to continue to cultivate a cult of personality for Obama.  That’s more palatable than objectively covering what he’s actually accomplished so far, which, except for squandering billions on bad ideas and crony payoffs, and ObamaCare, is not particularly noteworthy. 

Now there have been transformative giants among our past Presidents – like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan. 

As much as he and his supporters would like you to believe, Obama’s not in this league.  Not by a long shot. 

Despite his promise of hope and change, he’s turned out to be just another in a long line of callous politicians willing to do – and say – anything to maintain power.  There’s no crisis he won’t exploit to his advantage.  No situation he won’t manipulate to put himself in a better light.    

And regardless of how he’s routinely portrayed in the general press – kind, caring, compassionate – there’s also an incredibly nasty and vindictive side to Obama.   It seems to emerge more frequently these days, especially since his re-election.     

This is in sharp contrast to his favored role of Candy Man – the giver of everything you ever wished for, paid for by someone else.  It’s a way for him to appear magnanimous and concerned about helping the less fortunate, when all he’s really doing is buying votes with other peoples’ money.  Most of the beneficiaries of his largesse are not the less fortunate, but those he can count on to turn out reliably for every election. 

Honestly, right now, there’s no one to stop him from continuing to do this. 

Every time someone tries, they get hammered by the press, pounded on the Sunday news shows by hacks like Axelrod and Plouffe, and ridiculed by Obama.  It’s a very effective strategy – make cutting benefits or entitlements akin to taking food from the mouths of starving children while also pushing granny over the cliff.  The reality is quite different:  none of that would happen by making food stamps a tad more restrictive and pushing up the full retirement age a little at a time over decades. 

Nonetheless, that’s never going to get reported.  So proponents of reining in programs even in a reasonable way end up skulking away from the fray, tails between their legs. 

In his inauguration speech Obama implied that cutting spending was essentially off the table.  I’m sure that was music to the ears of his supporters who want the gravy train to just keep rolling along and expanding.  Based on the last election, that group is continually growing.

Sadly, Obama is merely giving a large portion of the public what they want.  Higher taxes on everybody but them.  More free stuff.  Less personal responsibility.  Reduced consequences for making bad decisions. 

What’s not to like? 

However, reality is starting to set in.  The Obama Administration and its spokespuppets like Reid have finally realized there isn’t enough money to pay for everything.  Geez, that took a while.  Most everybody else figured that out long, long ago.

Awkward.

So now they are talking about raising taxes again.  Granted, they are still donning their class-warfare regalia and focusing on higher taxes on the rich again, this time by closing loopholes in the tax code that favor the wealthy. 

If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because that’s what the Republicans proposed instead of raising tax rates on the well-off. 

Now it’s Obama’s idea.  He’s shooting to get both – higher tax rates AND closing loopholes.  But of course, only on the greedy pigs at the top. 

Anyone with the good sense God gave a sweet potato knows just about everybody’s taxes are going to go up, one way or another. The only question is who pays them and how much. 

But it’s a shell game:  while Obama raises taxes, he’ll give breaks to favored classes at the same time to avoid those higher taxes.   

If you want an example, look at ObamaCare.  “Mandatory” stuff in there that would raise costs for practically everyone isn’t really mandatory at all, or heavily subsidized with government dollars if you happen to be among his favored classes.  The same rules and penalties don’t apply equally. 

Remember Animal Farm by Orwell?  Where all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others?  You’re seeing that in action. 

He does this time and again, so his constituency will remain loyal.  And they love him for it. 

Give the guy credit – he knows how to play the game. 

And now we face four more years of this.