"The man behind the curtain"

Generations of Americans remember the scene in "The Wizard of Oz" when Dorothy and her friends brought back the witch's broom and confronted Oz. As he blustered at them Todo the dog pulled the curtain aside and his charade was revealed as he said "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"

I am almost seventy years old and still remember that scene from this classic movie. It reappeared from the deep recesses of my memory last night as I watched President Obama make his first major speech to the Congress and the rest of the world. Obama is a gifted orator who rivals John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and even Oz (as long as he was behind the curtain). But last night as his golden oratory flowed along and he continued his populist message of free everything for everyone, this scene from my favorite movie came to mind again, but I think the wording should be changed to: "Pay no attention to the man behind the golden voice".

Populism is hard to go up against;

- tax cuts for 95% of the people and tax increases on the "rich"
- bailouts for those who cannot pay their mortgage
- free health care for anyone who cannot (or will not) pay for it
- extended unemployment benefits and then welfare and food stamps
- college tuition grants for everyone who needs it
- development of renewable energy sources that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce global warming (forget that we could be completely energy independent with our own oil and nuclear power)

Who can argue against any of these promises, but there is never any discussion about how this will be paid for, and how can you argue against this populist message when many Americans see these promises as something for "free".

During his campaign, and even in his speech last night Obama said, "There will be no more earmarks". Anyone with a brain can see that the $720 billion stimulus bill is fifty percent "pork" and an independent report estimates that the 2009/2010 budget bill being approved this week includes more that 8500 earmarks - for want of a better word...disgraceful.

So I say: "Pay no attention to the man behind the golden voice". When you pull the golden curtain aside, this gifted orator is an "empty suit" and in my opinion he will go down as one of the more incompetent Presidents in the history of this country along with George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - wow three in a row...we are on a roll (a bad one).