O’Bama Refuses To Battle Snakes from Firedoglake

from http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/obama-refuses-to-battle-snakes/

One of the changes I most hoped for (but did not, however, expect) was to have a president who puts the rule of law and well-being of the country ahead of the narrow self-interest of the rich and powerful.  Admittedly, it's still very early in Obama's term, but so far I've seen precious little evidence that he has the stomach for it.

No matter how high the stakes, he tiptoes around the elephant in the room rather than confronting it head-on.  Consider:

1) The Economy.  Instead of taking over and restructuring rotten financial institutions, Obama throws money at them and hopes for the best, because he doesn't have the nerve to fire incompetent executives or force shareholders to take a loss.  And when all is bluffed and done, he probably won't force AIG execs to give back their bonuses, either.

2) Healthcare.  Obama wants to achieve the goal of universal affordable healthcare without bypassing its biggest obstacles, like the health insurance and pharma industries.  Instead of seriously considering the single-payer approach, he wants to use subsidies and mandates to keep the insurance and pharma industries in the game.  If anything, this system will only make them stronger, their reward, I suppose, for being such model corporate citizens and treating us so well over the years.

3) Accountability.  Not only has Obama shown no interest in investigating or prosecuting the crimes of the previous administration, but his Justice Department appears to be actively covering for them.  BushCo. will get away with every single awful thing they've done over the last eight years, and their young apprentices will be emboldened to do the same when they take the reins of government (which may be sooner rather than later if 1 & 2 turn out badly).

Yes, in each of these examples, doing the right thing would encounter resistance: The financial, insurance, and pharma industries all have powerful lobbies and lots of congresscritters in their pockets, but they're also less popular than Rush Limbaugh.  Real reform at their expense would generate a groundswell of popular support that would be hard to resist.

And sure, holding the Bush administration accountable for its many crimes would spark outraged shrieks of "Political witch hunt!" from Republicans and Villagers, but does anyone seriously believe that America would turn on Obama for prosecuting The Worst President Ever and his henchmen?

More than anything, Obama strikes me as a man who will spare no expense on balms and ointments to soothe a painful boil, but simply cannot bring himself to lance it.