Yesterday, a couple of talk shows displayed video clip compilations of various media personalities in such sheer ecstasy over President Obama’s second inauguration that they’d make Chris Matthews’ tingling leg look more like RG III tearing his ACL.
Apparently, the media’s giddiness isn’t shared by many Americans — even though it’s been barely more than two months since a majority of voters reelected the president to a second term. Gallup reports that Americans are more negative about the state of the country today — and its prospects for the future — than at any time since 1979. Only 39 percent of those polled gave a positive rating to the state of the country.
This negativity, however, isn’t the president’s fault. He inherited a 7.8 percent unemployment rate, a stagnant economy, rising health-insurance premiums, a looming entitlement catastrophe, a $16.4 trillion dollar debt, exploding poverty rates, mysterious tax increases on the middle class, mountains of job-stifling regulations, skyrocketing foodstamp expenditures, a downgraded credit rating, erosions to religious freedom, shrinking world influence, an imploding Middle East, serial trillion dollar deficits, a ballooning dependency class, and yet another debt-ceiling crisis from his predecessor.
No worries. It’ll all turn around once Obamacare is fully implemented.