That 70's Show
As we crawl toward election day and the polls keep threatening Obama, DIH recalls what she said to a friend early last summer: Obama will be elected, he'll be Jimmy Carter redux, let's just hope the next Reagan is ready for 2012.
Jimmy Carter, you will recall, was a Democrat president with a Democrat congress. Yet he never managed topush a single piece of his legislation through. People really didn't like him, I guess. Not even his own party. And remember double-digit inflation? What fun that was!
Yeah, I remember inflation. The real thing, not some namby-pamby "they raised the price of gas this week" stuff.
So as I contemplate the next four years, I'm throwing a little farewell party.
"Things DIH Will Miss Once the Government Inflate the Hell Out of the Currency and Everything Costs Five Times What It Used To"
-The smug feeling of superiority whenever I buy anything organic. Hello, pesticides, Desperate is back!
-The scent of the fancy-schmancy hand soap in my dojang's ladies' room. It's pretty, too-- clear salmon pink in these cute little teardrop-shaped dispensers. Yeah, that soap meant a lot to me. (Especially since my last dojang barely had indoor plumbing. I am not kidding.) It'll be back to industrial-strength supermarket stuff, I guess.
-The blithe way I used to add detergent to the washer. It sounds scandalous now, but I admit it-- I never measured. I guess I'll be measuring now, though.
-Might even start watering it down. Sigh. The high-rolling days are coming to an end...
-Full gas tanks
-Dry cleaning. Not that I ever get it now, being far too cheap. But still. It was nicce to know it was there if I needed it.
Please feel free to add to the list. And remember, four years of Carter got us Ronald Reagan in the end.
Jimmy Carter, you will recall, was a Democrat president with a Democrat congress. Yet he never managed topush a single piece of his legislation through. People really didn't like him, I guess. Not even his own party. And remember double-digit inflation? What fun that was!
Yeah, I remember inflation. The real thing, not some namby-pamby "they raised the price of gas this week" stuff.
So as I contemplate the next four years, I'm throwing a little farewell party.
"Things DIH Will Miss Once the Government Inflate the Hell Out of the Currency and Everything Costs Five Times What It Used To"
-The smug feeling of superiority whenever I buy anything organic. Hello, pesticides, Desperate is back!
-The scent of the fancy-schmancy hand soap in my dojang's ladies' room. It's pretty, too-- clear salmon pink in these cute little teardrop-shaped dispensers. Yeah, that soap meant a lot to me. (Especially since my last dojang barely had indoor plumbing. I am not kidding.) It'll be back to industrial-strength supermarket stuff, I guess.
-The blithe way I used to add detergent to the washer. It sounds scandalous now, but I admit it-- I never measured. I guess I'll be measuring now, though.
-Might even start watering it down. Sigh. The high-rolling days are coming to an end...
-Full gas tanks
-Dry cleaning. Not that I ever get it now, being far too cheap. But still. It was nicce to know it was there if I needed it.
Please feel free to add to the list. And remember, four years of Carter got us Ronald Reagan in the end.
DON'T lose faith!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe must pray for McCain & Palin to be victorious! I am and have been for months now.
Jimmy Carter did pass legislation. One example: The Fuel Use Act. This wisely prohibited the use of the most abundant and clean fuel (natural gas) from being used to fuel electrical generation. Of course, most of such legislation had to be later repealed because it was manifestedly stupid. The only distinguishing characteristic of an Obama Presidency would be to make Jimmy Carter the second worst President in my lifetime.
ReplyDelete1- Heather is right. The last few major polls I've read
ReplyDeleteLook here
and also here
and you might as well look here, too
All show a 2 point gap favoring Obama, which is a bloody sight better than 6 weeks ago. (My prayers are in the general direction of "Our Lady of Victory, PLEASE intercede for us.") The Obama camp has the media, and we have prayer. So there's that.
2- Obama combines the two worst traits of a politician: the mind-numbingly stupid policies of Jimmy Carter with the arrogant corruption of Bill Clinton. It's this latter aspect that concerns me.
3- For all the manifest glories of Ronald Reagan, his legacy was squandered when he selected Bush 41 as his VP. Sure, there a glimmer there in 1994 when the Republicans took the Congress, but it was barely MONTHS before they caved to Clinton on the budget deal.
That's the part that really burns me up: I belong to the party (mostly) represented by the most appalling array of invertebrates imaginable.
Blah.
-J.
P.S. The Republican campaigns of the last 5 elections remind me of this snippet of dialogue from The Cotton:
A: I'm sorry, we're not ready to go to war at this time.
B: Then you don't know you've already lost the war.
Sorry for the previous comment, I'm appalled at the way it was riddled with typos and omissions.
ReplyDeleteMea culpa.
1- Heather is right. The last few major polls I've read
Here
and and here
and here, too
all show a only a 2 point gap favoring Obama, which is a bloody sight better than the 6 point gap of 2 weeks ago. (My prayers are in the general direction of "Our Lady of Victory, PLEASE intercede for us.") The Obama camp has the media, and we have prayer. So there's that.
2- Obama combines the two worst traits of a politician: the mind-numbingly stupid policies of Jimmy Carter with the arrogant corruption of Bill Clinton. It's this latter aspect that concerns me, as it is a "force multiplier" for the former.
3- For all the manifest glories of Ronald Reagan, his legacy was squandered when he selected Bush 41 as his VP. Sure, there was a glimmer there in 1994 when the Republicans took the Congress, but it was barely MONTHS before they caved to Clinton on the budget deal.
That's the part that really burns me up: I belong to the party (mostly) represented by the most appalling array of invertebrates imaginable.
Blah.
-J.
P.S. The Republican campaigns of the last 5 elections remind me of this snippet of dialogue from The Cotton Club:
A: I'm sorry, we're not ready to go to war at this time.
B: Then you don't know you've already lost the war.