Inauspicious start

So, the first week of the Obama administration has ended and I have to say he's off to a pretty inauspicious start.

He began the week with a public signing of executive orders which made him look like he has no idea what's going on, referring to the White House Council for explanation on everything except how to spell his name. I'll be the first to admit that a President can't know every detail all the time - the job is just too big. He has to depend on his people to keep track of things for him. However, one would expect that he would be better prepped for a public event like this.

Included in the executive orders was the order to close Gitmo. An act that, according to the latest Gallup poll, 45 percent of people think shouldn't be done, 35 percent think should, and the remaining 20 percent don't care. Even though the closure is ordered, there is no mention of what is to be done with the occupants, and indications are that we're finding people released from Gitmo on the battlefield. In fact, a couple of them have even made videos to that effect.

Then, there was the trip down to the White House Pressroom "for a visit." It played out almost like a scene in MASH where a general said, "This is a press conference, the last thing I want to do is answer a bunch of questions!"

I listened to the audio of the exchange, and, by his own words, President Obama walked into the pressroom just for a friendly visit. He was then upset because the reporters started asking him questions. I would hope that someone who is smart enough to be President of the United States would be smart enough to realize that when the leader of the free world walks into a room full of reporters, whether it's to visit or to have a press conference, he's going to get asked questions.

Then there is the appointment of Timothy Geithner. I suppose the theory is that if you're going to have someone whose job includes being in charge of the IRS, he should know what tax evasion looks like.

Let's not forget his meeting with Republicans where he spent the time reminding them that he won in November and he'll be trumping them on their proposals. Apparently, he has the standard Democratic view of bipartisanship. "Everyone cave and come over to my point of view."

Then, we round out the week with the "stimulus package," which is anything but that. According to the Congressional Business office, the government is going to spend $26 billion of the $825 billion this year, $110 billion of it the next year and $103 billion will be spent in 2011, $53 billion will be spent in 2012 and $63 billion between 2013 and 2019. If this crisis is so great that we must do something right now, this minute, why is it that the majority of the money won't be spent for years?

Then of course, there are the specific places where the money is going. Space and time don't allow for listing it all here. You can read it all for yourself here. I'll just leave it that it appears this "stimulus" has more pork than my last barbecue.

All in all, a pretty unimpressive start.