Where is the outrage as Obama surpasses Bush?

April 6, 2011

Letter: Where is the outrage as Obama surpasses Bush?

April 6, 2011

To the editor:

For eight years we were treated to an endless media blitz about the illegality of the war, the impropriety of keeping prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the warrantless wiretapping, the USA Patriot act, the "record deficits" ($426 billion when that claim was made), the mounting debt ($9.4 trillion when that claim was made). To hear the left in 2008, America was falling apart and only the messiah of hope and change could save it.

Obama promised to "get our forces out of Iraq within the year" and to "close Guantanamo Bay within one year", and to "grow our economy" and "reign in the reckless spending of the Bush years", to "bring America back from the brink" and "restore our financial footing."

In reality, he has spent $4.5 trillion in only two years, more than Bush spent in eight. He has increased the national debt by $4.5 trillion more than Bush did in eight years. He has quadrupled the record deficit he railed against in 2008. He passed the most massive regulatory and spending bill in history, Obamacare, and unemployment has risen dramatically higher than ever achieved by Bush. The only reason it is dropping the last two months is because people fall off the rolls when they stop looking for work and run out of benefits.

So where are the protests? Where is Michael Moore doing a mockumentary on the failure of the president? Where is Cindy Sheehan? Where is Nancy, Harry, Dick, and Brother Jesse? Where is all the outrage that marked the Bush years?

Obama has continued and expanded every one of Bush's national security policies, even announcing the resuming of military tribunals at the hated Gitmo. Troops in Afghanistan have been expanded as has Iraq, and we now have troops in Libya, Bahrain, Qatar, and more. We still have warrantless wiretapping, the USA Patriot Act, higher deficits, and more reckless spending. Where are the protests? Where is the outrage?

Could it be that all of that manufactured outrage on the political left during the Bush administration was not genuine concern for the issues, but rabid hatred of one man instead? Hypocrisy lives on.