Sept. 25, 2011

COLUMBUS: President Obama was back in Ohio (his second home) to give a speech in Cincinnati. He was there to warn drivers about a bridge that might collapse into the Ohio River if we don’t borrow millions of dollars to replace it before the next election.

Thousands of people cross that Interstate bridge every day, and I don’t doubt the President is deeply concerned about their safety, even if most of them are Republicans. But it is pretty clear his main interest is to give people a job and jolt the economy.

Maybe he can do what Calvin Coolidge and Lyndon Johnson did. Just say, “I choose not to run for another term.” Now I don’t expect him to do it, and don’t want him to. But if he did, it would be a tremendous jolt. Look at all the jobs created by the dozen Republicans running for President. And if you added a dozen Democrats to the race it would double the mudslinging. Just cleaning up after those birds, look at all the shovel-ready jobs.

The President wants to spend $450 Billion, but he wants to reduce the deficit. Today I read in the newspaper a good place to start: stop sending checks to dead Federal retirees. In 2005 an investigator gave the government 14 steps to eliminate this waste. Six years and $600,000,000 later, the department in charge of retirement checks has adopted 10 of the steps. Apparently one of the four steps they have not tried yet is this: Before you hand over the monthly check ask them, “Are you still alive?”

In fact that might be a good question to ask the current employees in that department.

Speaking of Republican candidates, the only two who have won anything so far are Michelle Bachmann and Herman Cain. Now they were only “straw polls”, but does it make you wonder why Perry and Romney are getting all the attention? It’s a long horse race and what a horse does in the first couple of strides doesn’t count for much. But a stumble or two can cause heartburn for a bettor.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:
“Last year we said, ‘Things can’t go on like this!’ They didn’t. They got worse.” Jan. 11, 1930

“Do you think the world leaders can get us out of this (economic mess)? They might, ignorance got us in.
Do you think we will get out of this depression just because we got out of all the others? Lots of folks drown that’s been in the water before.” DT #2002, Jan. 3, 1931

 “We used to call Depression a State of mind, now it’s a State of health. It’s really not Depression, it’s just a return to normalcy.” WA #461, Oct 25, 1931