George Graham

D.C. Egos Are Showing, and It’s Not a Pretty Sight

obama indexBarack Obama is not even President yet and already members of Congress are trying to put obstacles in his path. They are niggling over the details of his stimulus package, finding fault with the people he nominated to carry out his policies, and generally displaying their egos like male baboons in mating season.

What part of a 69 per cent approval rating do they not understand?  That’s what American voters think of the job Obama is doing. And 27 per cent of voters “strongly approve.”

As for Congress, only 11 per cent of voters give the lawmakers good or excellent ratings, while 54 per cent say the legislators are doing a poor job. And that’s an improvement from December, when their approval rate was just 9 per cent.

The obsructionists are not just Republicans. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are strutting like tom turkeys. Diane Feinstein springs to mind and that weasel from Nevada – Harry Reid. I expected mean-spirited cavilling from Republicans like Mitch McConnel and John Boehner. That’s what Republicans do best. But the ego display by Democratic legislators caught me by surprise.

In Jamaica, crowds would probably be gathering in the streets protesting against Obama’s opponents. And I wonder whether it might not happen here, too. After all, with so many Americans out of work, what else have they got to do?

About the author

gwgraeme

I am a Jamaican-born writer who has lived and worked in Canada and the United States. I live in Lakeland, Florida with my wife, Sandra, our three cats and two dogs. I like to play golf and enjoy our garden, even though it's a lot of work. Since retiring from newspaper reporting I've written a few books. I also write a monthly column for Jamaicans.com