Tis' the season to be jolly, tis' the season to be thankful, tis' the season to give, tis' the season to dream. I want to be the good team player, the magnanimous victor, the calm voice of reason above the din of the legitimately disgusted and angry patriots who have watched this idiotic Administration run the ship of state aground, but alas I care too much about those who ultimately pay the price for such malfeasance: namely, the incredible shrinking middle class.
While the President has been mindlessly absent for the bulk of his tenure, his hand at the helm at this moment in time, asleep, blissfully ignorant, thirsting for the time he can return to Crawford, or Dallas, or wherever next he can be taken care of, as he has his entire life, seemingly tests the true strength of the glue that holds this country together.
If George W. Bush is truly looking at his legacy, I have a suggestion; your greatest contribution to the nation would be to magnanimously suggest that for the next six weeks or so the country will be guided by a co-Presidency, one that allows you to continue to act like you are in control, while actually allowing Obama to make decisions. After all, the only difference from the last eight years would be that Obama would replace Cheney, so really Mr. President, there is no difference at all.
Of course, if you decide to take early retirement, I would gladly accede to allowing a portion of the economic recovery stimulus to be used as a golden parachute. This is one time when it actually would be a good investment to heap an obscene amount of cash on an unsuccessful executive in order to save the company, or in this case the country.
I try to catch myself and wonder if I am not overreacting, but seriously, how many people, both unemployed and underemployed, the latter being the great hidden secret the family does not want to face, sort of like Uncle John's drinking problem, or Aunt Millie's kleptomania, that is spinning exponentially out of control and threatens to accelerate the misery index beyond anything we are now facing.
The economic correction we are now looking at is a reaction to the carelessness of a deregulatory fervor that has been underway for some time now. It has been fueled by the darkest forces that justify the laissez-faire delusions certain conservatives have brought to the dismal science of economics. Trickle down is now cascading upon us, sweeping us further and further down the river. And to continue to scramble metaphors, if only to attempt to ease the pain, millions of Americans will be left up the creek without a paddle.
The need to act and act forcefully is now. Obama realizes this, the American people realize this, Congress realizes this, and sadly, even Dubya has inkling that something is not right. So, Mr. President, you have sleepwalked through eight years, your Administration has committed actions that few doubt would result in criminal prosecution, tens of thousands of people have died, many defending your decisions and honoring your high office, the world is a far more dangerous place than it was and it should be, you have squandered the Nation's moral authority on issues like human rights, civil rights, and climate change, have you not done enough?
You can save your pride, save your honor, save your proverbial rear end, you can play President for the rest of your time, but you have no right to make decisions that will hinder or impede the incoming Administration in its efforts to try to put back together the broken mess you have created and will be leaving behind. You will live the rest of your life in taxpayer-funded comfort. When is enough, enough?
Do the right thing. Schedule a press conference immediately, announce that in an unprecedented move you and the President-elect will together guide the country through these difficult times and you will defer to the incoming Administration on matters that will be their responsibility on January 20, which is to say everything.
I realize that this will not happen, but sometimes you just have to take your shot. It is only a dream, but what a dream. Mr. President, you have lived a charmed life, you will continue to live a charmed life; you are a very lucky soul. But there are so, so many who work hard, strive to make life better for themselves and their families, find themselves living on the edge, from paycheck to paycheck, or worse yet find themselves falling behind, and then there are the unlucky ones who never had a chance. So this Christmas season, live out the dream, and just stay out of the way while the serious folks take over.
It could be the 21st century version of A Christmas Carol, It's a Beautiful Life, and The Grinch all rolled up into one, but it's only a dream, right?