the otherwhirled

I was having another one of those endless, pointless arguments: which is better, a cat or a dog. I seem to get into these sorts of discussions a lot, and I admit I am by nature someone who ranks and measures things. I confound friends and family alike with my somnambulating pronouncements comparing and contrasting. It is rare that I ever say that something is good or bad, I usually is put it in some context.

The question about cats and dogs got me to thinking, though, and it seems clear to me that if what you want is a cat, well, a dog would be a terrible choice. And if what you wanted is a dog, there is not a cat alive that will satisfy you. Truth is cats are good at being cats and dogs are good at being dogs. Which is better is entirely dependent upon your expectations.

And that brings me to today’s theme: Chimpy is a failure: true or false. I notice a lot of really good bloggers saying that Chimpy is a failure and the worst president ever, and I concur. But what if the case is the same as cats and dogs. We expected one thing, and we got a another. Seems simple, right.

Or are we looking at the problem from the wrong perspective, the wrong context?

What if Chimpy is doing what he was elected to do? Does that make him a failure or a stunning success? Think about it for a moment. He’s wrecked the economy (for you and me), but he has succeeded in the largest transfer of wealth to the upper classes in our nation’s history. He has cut taxes for the wealthiest few, eviscorated the middle class and left the next generations holding the IOU. He has squandered our country’s good name and reputation starting a pointless war that absolutely benefits the oil companies — if, like me, you believe the Iraq war was about oil, but more in fact about keeping oil prices high by keeping Iraq’s oil off the market.

The thing is, what if the people who financed his startling rise to power got whatever it was that they wanted? Oil Company A gives Chimpy a measly $100,000 from their PAC, and get billions of dollars in profits in return. That is money well spent. The ruling classes donate money to Chimpy’s election, and they get huge tax breaks - again, money well spent. (Though admittedly, they did not get rid of the inheritance tax — at least not yet.)

Chimpy has also stripped the Congress of any power it might have had (though admittedly Congress gave it up rather willingly and seems unlikely to ever ask for it back), packed the courts, and started tearing up the Bill of Rights one clause at a time. Want to sue? Good luck, and remember Chimpy can scoop you up off the street and hold you indefinitely without trial or charges — he made it legal. What are you gonna do?

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So yes, we expected a president and instead we got a fascist. Cats make terrible dogs.