After Monday’s speech and Republican reply I would like to humbly submit the following:

President Obama..Take Two

Good Evening.

However gut wrenching, the position we find ourselves in this evening was almost inevitable. It really is a number of people trying to take the “cure” after twenty years of binge spending. Not just the government but all of us.

Much of these problems started in the nineties. We had a valiant effort to make home ownership a significant part of the American dream. A noble concept but one fraught with danger. It required restraint and common sense for every one involved. Very little was evident. We all chased profit. We were all complicit.

Congress and the Executive branch curried favor with the electorate. People knowingly lied on applications. We made zero down an absurdity. Appraisers lied. Banks looked the other way. Rating agencies failed. Wall Street made money hand over fist, knowing the untenable substructure was without value.

At its height it provided a heady feeling all the way around. We boasted of a surplus but it was ill timed. 9/11 arrived with all its hate and fury. Our psyche was savagely attacked as was our homeland. Revenge became a stupid reaction. We went in deep on flimsy grounds.

We didn’t look for a way to fund these hostilities. As a matter of fact we increased spending “like drunken sailors” according to John McCain. And his party was in power. We passed a huge prescription drug bill. The coup de grace of sorts were the tax cuts. What were we thinking?

Not to be outdone the Dems came into power. They couldn’t wait to fund pet programs of welfare of all sorts. Yes, I too pushed a health care bill that should not have been. At least not at that particular period. The malpractice of government continued unabated.

Now the chickens were coming to roost. Wall Street crumbled. America shut down. Foreclosures were the obvious outcome. We despaired financially and in our soul. We tried to stimulate the economy. We borrowed more. We fell deeper. And Washington as guardians of the national trust fund failed miserably.

This day was inevitable. The Tea Party was not wrong in their heart but in their intransigence. We as a government and a nation had lost our compass. But then incredibly we renewed those cuts for everyone. The idiocy in the hope of reelection continued.

Part of the cure is hitting rock bottom. You know you have to do something. You look in the mirror. The games stop. Right now we have to decide as a government which master we want to serve. Our local precinct or the common good.

The talk seems to revolve around the 2012 election. Let me take my hat out of the ring momentarily. I made a decision that entitlements had to be on the table. That does not play well to my base. But it was obvious it had to be. John Boehner also put revenue increases on the table. He also was not greeted with open arms.

I made a big mistake in not taking the Joint Commission’s report on the deficit more seriously. I and the Republicans thought it would never play well in Peoria. We failed to realize how pertinent and workable a document it was. Bipartisan, it should have and should now be our blueprint.

I call on John to join me one more time. We will cut spending deeply. Not just with realigning ledgers. We are fat and obscene. We will raise taxes on those making more than $500,000 and by closing obvious loopholes.

We will all act like adults. We will put reelection on the back burner. I am ready to say the Executive Branch will no longer be under a separate pension fund. We will go into Social Security and transfer our funds there. We will seek out medical insurance like the rest of America. We will make any retirement benefits commensurate with time served. I ask the Legislative and Judicial branches to do the same. Let’s all have skin in the game.

I’d like to say this is a trial balloon. That we have choice. We really don’t. I am ready to face reality. I hope you are too.

Thank you for your time and God bless America….fade to black

Speaker Boehner: Take Two

Thank you Mr. President. I had an entirely different response planned. Listening to you I realized we are all at fault. Every man woman and child in this country. I join you in spirit of cooperation.

I will do so on the strict understanding of the Republican’s overall philosophy. We want less, not more government. We continue to believe government cannot not be the panacea some believe. We understand the need to tax but not to increase spending. We fear that is an underlying theme.

Let’s get on this first thing in the morning. Let’s do something that America and the world can be proud of. I will pledge to sit down until we reach a compromise.

I think your tenor and the history you laid out show we are ALL in this. Let’s just admit this from the start and move on. I will make sure I bring the support of the Republicans and you of the Democrats. That is why we are leaders. It really is time to move forward. We won’t let the country down. We are together.

May God Bless America…..fade to black

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

The US Navy has 230 ships at sea. It has 278 admirals. Admirals don’t serve on ships. In WWII there was one admiral for 130 ships.

The head chaplain of the Navy is a two star admiral. He has two admirals under him.

Each admiral cost about $240,000 in salary and benefits.

It is estimated that to get from the Secretary of the Navy to a line officer in the fleet, one has to go through 30 layers of bureaucracy.

The US Navy is but one piece of the defense establishment that is just one part of the US budget. Think of all the agencies and then imagine the waste in each one. Medicare. Education. Agriculture etc. Case Closed