Constructive Criticism

Simulposted at Daily Kos,  and soon to be at Antemedius, maybe!

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Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for all you have accomplished in your time in office. I sincerely appreciate all of the many ways you are different than George Bush. Your wife and children are beautiful and vivacious and a pleasure to watch and in Michelle’s case, listen to. And by the way, that tie really brings out the color of your eyes, and the salt and pepper hair thing is looking pretty darn good on you!

Thank you for protecting us from Canadian health care and those that would close the pentagon. I am heartened to see that you are keeping your elbow tucked in when you elevate for the three-pointer. Bo looks like he is growing up nicely and you must be feeding him well, you can see it in the sheen on his coat.

And now, unfortunately, I have a few thoughts to offer that I hope you won’t find to upsetting. I trust that will be the case since as your fine and quite attractive Press Secretary Mr. Gibbs stated forthrightly the other day, “I don’t think [liberal voters won’t show up],” he said, “because I think what’s at stake in November is too important to do that. Since you already know I will vote for you no matter what you say or do, I trust any offending or insensitive remarks I may inadvertently make (as well as any thoughts or ideas that may have some small value or credence) will be thoroughly ignored. After all Mr. Gibbs nailed me, haha, you know I have no where else to go, you know you and the Dems thus have my support, why should you bother listening to what I say?

That being said Mr. President, and please pardon my effrontery for seemingly thinking I may have something to offer as a citizen and lifelong Democrat, I know you are much, much, much smarter than me and that if I really think I have a good idea or two, that I should run for office and see how far I get and how I deal with the pressures you are under…I do have one or two things I would like to mention. Hopefully they will be received as constructive criticism, and not as some drug addled Leftist bashing of you. (Btw, just for the record, I think Representative Kucinich is too short to be President, I hope that sets your mind at ease.)

But first, before I jot down my thoughts….a list of your accomplishments!

You passed a stimulus (albeit watered down due to your opposition) that quite possibly saved the worlds economic system!

You passed Financial Regulatory Reform (albeit watered down due to your opposition) that attempts to reign in the worst of the excesses of those that almost destroyed the worlds economic system!

You passed Health Insurance Reform (albeit watered down due to your opposition) when no other president has been able to do so!

And that is just a partial list of all the things you have accomplished, despite your oppositions full on war against you, for their own political gain.

Now, on to my humble suggestions, that I hope you will take in the spirit of constructive criticism.

For all of our sake, and for the sake of the Democratic majorities, for the sake of your second term, and to actually bring about the somewhat radical FDR level changes necessary to deal with the radical and unprecedented challenges we face as a nation and as a planet…..

Will you PLEASE start attacking your opposition with the same or greater fervor with which you attack those who support (even while criticizing you) you and your agenda?

Will you please Mr. President, sir, personally or through proxies, point out at every opportunity to the American People that it is the Republicans (your opposition) who wrecked the economy.

That it is the Republicans (your opposition) who took record surpluses and turned them into record deficits.

That it is the Republicans (your opposition) who have created the current devastating unemployment.

That it is the Republicans (your opposition) who are responsible for the policies that led to the housing bubble and thus the record foreclosures that are kicking Americans out of their homes in …again… record numbers.

That it is the Republicans (your opposition) who took us into two wars that we cannot afford, and that we are now scrambling to find a reasonable solution to, without causing undue harm to those who are innocents in the countries we invaded.

That it is the Republicans (your opposition) who are severely and unforgivably and in record numbers abusing the filibuster to in effect shut down government at their repeatedly stated strategy to defeat you politically.

That it is the Republicans who are unconscionably harming the American People as a political strategy, causing the suffering and hopelessness the American People are feeling. And blaming you for.

As Mr Gibbs said,  “what’s at stake in November is too important.”

Now some might say that you are already doing this, to them I offer in rebuttal your poll numbers and the confusion of the American People as to who passed TARP, etc.

Every challenge we as a nation and you as a leader face were either caused by or compounded to a state of crisis by the Republicans. They nearly destroyed the country, and according to your own economic team, that is not hyperbole or exaggeration. My constructive criticism, Mr. President, is that you are not reminding the American People of that fact every waking hour of you and your press secretaries life.

Were I not trying to be constructive Mr. President, I might point out that the biggest mistake you have made in your presidency was spending vast amounts of time, energy and political capital to try to woo people who have repeatedly, and in many and various ways so that they were crystal clear about it, openly stated for the record that their only agenda is to NOT work with you in any way in order to attempt to bring about your Waterloo, to take you down, to defeat any and all efforts you might make to actually help the American People.

Indeed, in light of those statements and the success of their strategy, your list of accomplishments is indeed very, very impressive.

Just think though, if I may be so bold, what you might have accomplished, and might accomplish still if you would just tell the goddam truth about your opposition, the Republicans, instead of continuing in your rhetoric to pretend that they are reasonable people acting in good faith.

Mr. President, the Republicans have declared war on you. They have declared war on the American Middle Class, the American Working Class, and on the poor.

My humble suggestion, offered in the spirit of constructive criticism and acknowledging all you have accomplished despite the fact that the Republicans are, it must be said, trying to destroy the American dream and cause immense and unwarranted suffering to the American People (and let’s not forget trying to bring about the destruction of the earth’s atmosphere for their short term profit) through their dishonest destructive and incredibly selfish agenda is that you…

FIGHT BACK.

And that you use your bully pulpit to shout from the rooftops, so that all of America and the world can hear, HOW and WHY you are fighting back.

So that the beleaguered American People whose lives have been, and are being, destroyed by the Republicans know, in no uncertain terms, that there IS indeed someone fighting on their behalf.

As Mr. Gibbs said, “what’s at stake in November is too important.”

Indeed. Too important for half measures. Too important for comity, collegiality and “bi-partisan consensus.” Too important for anything less than an all out exposure and assault on what is REALLY wrong with this country. On what is REALLY causing the suffering of the American People. On who is too blame for the mess we are in and who is stopping you, us, and the Congress from fixing that mess.

The Republican Party.

They are at war with you Mr. President, and they are waging that war on all of us. I humbly beseech you, sir, to FIGHT BACK. With every weapon, strategy and tactic at your disposal.

It is my deeply held belief, and the belief of my friends and neighbors, that we desperately need someone to fight for us in the Halls of Power….in a way that is apparent, clear, unmistakable, and not subject to spin.

Show us you are fighting for us, Mr President, and we will have Hope again.

This will, I feel, help to close the “enthusiasm gap” in the upcoming midterms. And have a salutary effect on American politics in general.

Fight for us, Mr. President, please.

Thank you.

(Btw, I like those shoes, too.)