Obama - The Earmark King!

During the campaign last year, candidate Obama insisted that the would not sign earmark loaded legislation if it came across his desk. He promised hope. And he promised change. From the AP:

President Barack Obama plans to sign a massive spending bill to keep the federal government running, but he is cracking down on lawmakers' penchant for stuffing such legislation with billions of dollars in pet projects.

Apparently, the 8,600 earmarks(Taxpayers for Common Sense) in the budget bill are not really earmarks. Just as the trillion dollars of pork in the stimulus was not earmarks either. But wait, the Obama team has a new spin(from Yahoo):

Orszag said: "We want to just move on. Let's get this bill done, get it into law and move forward."

Said Emanuel: "That's last year's business."

Let's examine this. Allegedly, voters picked change. The only change in this budget is that former President Bush would not sign it. So the Democrat congress held it over until President Obama took office. And he signed. Earmarks and all.

Change you can believe in.

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Hope and Change - Trenton style

So here I am this morning walking into the newly renamed Trenton Transit Center to catch a train to New york. Standing outside speaking very loudly about Obama's speech were two maintenance employees for the station smoking cigarettes. Here's what I heard:

State employee 1: Do you hear what I am saying? All these people going to school and all these technology jobs. Doesn't mean anything anymore...

State employee 2: I know what you are saying.

State employee 1: It's a waste. Did you hear it? Going to college is a waste. there is no point to it.

State employee 2: I heard it. The government is going to take care of everything.

Clearly this conversation is not representative of what Barack Obama said last night. But I think it is very instructive of the continuation of the "I will hear what I want to hear" that may in the end by Obama's biggest achilles heel. Since none of the national discourse is being matched to the reality of what is happening (for example the stimulus that was anything but stimulative to the economy), people are left to fill in the blanks. And they are. And one day soon, reality will set in along with a healthy dose is disappointment.

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