I don't know if you've noticed, but there's been a nuanced shift in the talking points of our president lately. Throughout the campaign, plus for about a year after election to the highest office in the land, he spent most of his waking hours beating the Bushes. For every ill, real or perceived, the fault lay squarely on the shoulders of George Bush and the “failed policies of the last eight years.”
What we've heard lately, though, is an elaborate, but ever-mutating car metaphor. “They (meaning Bush and the evil Republicans),” says the chief executive, “had driven this car (the economy) into the ditch. Now we (heroic and noble Democrats) have toiled and struggled to get this car out of the ditch, and they (evil Republicans) want the keys back.”
The circumstances change slightly from speech to speech, depending on the venue. The characters change, the reasons for driving into the ditch change, and different parts of the car tend to fall off at different times.
Republicans have even been allegedly standing around drinking Slurpees while the car is being pulled from the ditch. Sometimes the ditch is muddy, sometimes it's dusty, sometimes both. Obama and his Democrat colleagues get muddy and dusty at the same time. You really gotta watch out for dusty mud.
So, why the sudden change in strategy? It's possible that some advisor finally had the courage to tap him on the shoulder and say, “Um, excuse me, Mr. President, but you know the 'last eight years of failed policies' you keep talking about? I don't know how to tell you this, but...well, for almost two of those last eight years you've been in charge.” That's highly unlikely to be the reason for the change, however, since most megalomaniacs tend to surround themselves with yes-men.
More likely, the change is purely poll driven. It has everything to do with upcoming mid-term elections and is meant to be a subtle warning to voters to not return the keys to the wrong folks. As catchy as it is, the metaphor is not complete. There's something missing. For some reason, the president is not finishing the metaphor, and in a way, I can understand his reluctance. But, since I pride myself in being a helpful person, allow me do it for him.
The president should say, “after they drove this car into the ditch, we knew we had to take some very drastic measures to make sure they would never again have the keys to this car. First, we jacked the car up and set it on blocks. Then, we stripped it and sold the hubcabs, wheels, and sound system to some really nice fellows with lots of money. I believe they said they were from China or someplace like that.
Next, we pulled the engine, which is now hanging from a tree on the White House lawn. Nice touch, huh? Oh, and you're going to love this last part. We went to one of those quickie-cash places, and borrowed tons of money on a title loan. The best part is we don't even have to pay it back. We'll leave that for our children and grandchildren.
Now, if Republicans should happen to get the keys back in November, they certainly won't be able to put it into the ditch again. Heck, there may not be anything left to drive.”
With just those few, simple lines, the president could not only finish his metaphor, but actually make it infinitely more accurate. Meanwhile, I'm hoping it's not too late to get in on that Cash for Clunkers thing.
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I don't know if you've noticed, but there's been a nuanced shift in the talking points of our president lately. Throughout the campaign, plus for about a year after election to the highest office in the land, he spent most of his waking hours beating the Bushes. For every ill, real or perceived, the fault lay squarely on the shoulders of George Bush and the “failed policies of the last eight years.”
What we've heard lately, though, is an elaborate, but ever-mutating car metaphor. “They (meaning Bush and the evil Republicans),” says the chief executive, “had driven this car (the economy) into the ditch. Now we (heroic and noble Democrats) have toiled and struggled to get this car out of the ditch, and they (evil Republicans) want the keys back.”
The circumstances change slightly from speech to speech, depending on the venue. The characters change, the reasons for driving into the ditch change, and different parts of the car tend to fall off at different times.
Republicans have even been allegedly standing around drinking Slurpees while the car is being pulled from the ditch. Sometimes the ditch is muddy, sometimes it's dusty, sometimes both. Obama and his Democrat colleagues get muddy and dusty at the same time. You really gotta watch out for dusty mud.
So, why the sudden change in strategy? It's possible that some advisor finally had the courage to tap him on the shoulder and say, “Um, excuse me, Mr. President, but you know the 'last eight years of failed policies' you keep talking about? I don't know how to tell you this, but...well, for almost two of those last eight years you've been in charge.” That's highly unlikely to be the reason for the change, however, since most megalomaniacs tend to surround themselves with yes-men.
More likely, the change is purely poll driven. It has everything to do with upcoming mid-term elections and is meant to be a subtle warning to voters to not return the keys to the wrong folks. As catchy as it is, the metaphor is not complete. There's something missing. For some reason, the president is not finishing the metaphor, and in a way, I can understand his reluctance. But, since I pride myself in being a helpful person, allow me do it for him.
The president should say, “after they drove this car into the ditch, we knew we had to take some very drastic measures to make sure they would never again have the keys to this car. First, we jacked the car up and set it on blocks. Then, we stripped it and sold the hubcabs, wheels, and sound system to some really nice fellows with lots of money. I believe they said they were from China or someplace like that.
Next, we pulled the engine, which is now hanging from a tree on the White House lawn. Nice touch, huh? Oh, and you're going to love this last part. We went to one of those quickie-cash places, and borrowed tons of money on a title loan. The best part is we don't even have to pay it back. We'll leave that for our children and grandchildren.
Now, if Republicans should happen to get the keys back in November, they certainly won't be able to put it into the ditch again. Heck, there may not be anything left to drive.”
With just those few, simple lines, the president could not only finish his metaphor, but actually make it infinitely more accurate. Meanwhile, I'm hoping it's not too late to get in on that Cash for Clunkers thing.
