What was the rush?

As we close in on the 2 year anniversary of Obama's election, most polls show the President's approval rating isn't so hot. The upcoming elections will no doubt be a referendum on his presidency and it's funny to see how the Democrats are starting to spin. They probably sense their impending doom and are trying to soften the blow when it comes. I could list the many failings of Obama thus far but why bother? Everyone knows the economy is still struggling, people are still out of work, the Bush tax cuts are about to expire, and Obama is at war with banks, insurance companies, and BP. Everyone has also heard his oft repeated excuse, “I didn't make this mess.”

What exactly has Obama done to help create jobs? One of the first acts of his new administration was to push through a $1.5 trillion “stimulus” package aimed at keeping the unemployment rate under 8%. Obviously that was a massive failure since the unemployment later went above 10%. The funny thing about the 2009 stimulus was that most of the money wasn't earmarked to be spent until 2010. Well, here we are midway through 2010 and most of the money STILL hasn't been spent. What are they waiting for? If this package could truly create jobs and help grow the economy, now would be a good time to execute it! I think they're saving it for things like liberal, pet projects and political kickbacks.

The President and Congress are still spending money, of course, as evidenced by the runaway deficit. The budget deficit for this year alone is greater than the combined deficits of all eight years of the Bush presidency. It's just that they're not spending it on things that will help grow the economy. I know I'm just a business major so can someone explain to me how demonizing “big” businesses creates jobs? Aren't businesses the ones who hire people? Oh yeah, the President also has stopped off-shore drilling and is trying to raise our energy bills via cap-and-trade. Again, remind me how that creates jobs?

Now after 18 months on inaction from President Obama, I just remembered something funny. Right after the 2008 election, in the midst of the mortgage banking meltdown, liberal reporters like those on CNN were lamenting that Obama had to wait until January to take office. The fear was that the country literally might not last that long and they were discussing ways Obama might take the reigns sooner. So, what was the rush guys? Do you feel a little foolish because you could not wait for him to take office and start changing things only to see him take office and do nothing?