What does Obama say to a hippie with two black eyes?

By Steve Hynd

What does Obama say to a hippie with two black eyes? Nothing, he's already told that hippie how to vote twice.

That's sorta how I feel reading Obama's deficit speech today.

He's making the right noises, promising "I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society", that  "I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program" and  "we will not abandon... our commitment to Social Security". Glad words for a DFH's heart. He even squarely put the blame for the deficit on the Bush era GOP - about time - and smuggled in the socialist watchwords "from each according to their means, to each according to their needs", rephrased:

As a country that values fairness, wealthier individuals have traditionally born a greater share of this burden than the middle class or those less fortunate. This is not because we begrudge those who�ve done well � we rightly celebrate their success. Rather, it is a basic reflection of our belief that those who have benefitted most from our way of life can afford to give a bit more back.

This as he called for an end to Bush's tax cuts for the rich as well as reform of both the individual and corporate tax codes. "I don't need another tax cut. Warren Buffett doesn't need another tax cut. Not if we have to pay for it by making seniors pay more," he said.

All in all it was a great speech from a great speech-giver, and I could even have forgiven him the bit where he chanelled Tony Blair with "I'm eager to hear other ideas from all ends of the political spectrum," as if he meant from his left as well as his right. (Two words: single payer.)

But then I remembered promises of Gitmo closure unmet, of torturers given a free pass, of drones in wars undeclared; I remember him promising a 2011 drawdown in Afghanistan that's been put off to 2014 and a withdrawal from Iraq this year that his SecDef started this week by trying to get the Iraqis to roll back; I remember his spending $600 million in the last month on his new quagmire in Libya and the fact that the last two years have still seen the DoD's budget growing; I remember the corporate giveaway that healthcare reform turned into; I remember too few fights and too many caves. I remember this from 2007:

Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat seeking his party�s presidential nomination, said in a television interview broadcast Sunday that he supported �rolling back the Bush tax cuts on the top 1 percent of people who don�t need it.�

And I figured out that asking the DoD to conduct its own review of its roles and missions to see how much can be trimmed from the military budget is like asking the fox to investigate the massacre at the henhouse.

President Obama gives good talking head, but too often there's no snuggly spooning afterwards - and if there was he'd just take the opportunity to slip more rufies in our wine. Progressives and liberals - DFH's for short - are emulating battered wives: "I should leave him but he's so sexy when he talks like that and promises me next time will be different." But then there's just another punch and "where's my dinner and did you re-elect me yet?"

I mean, sure the Republicans are worse but but if you never stop and build that social democrat party, you'll always be going to the elections with that neolib party you wish you'd the courage to dump. Husbands of battered wives usually tell those wives how much worse off they'd be without them too.