30 DAYS

Obama’s demonstrated lack of good judgement past 20 years has resurrected itself the past 30 days, exactly as we warned that it would. His associations with Rezko, ACORN, Wright, Blago, Ayers, Daley, his Senate voting record (against the successful surge / blocking reform of the twins - ground zero) all reflected less-than-sound judgement. Now, anyone who cares about the US must be very worried about what they have witnessed the last 4 weeks.

For example, the Kool-Aid crowd were prepared for soon-to-be-enacted revolutionary ethics. Instead we are witnessing one of the most scandal-plagued incipient administrations of the last half-century. Obama’s Treasury Sect (and nominal head of the IRS) is a tax dodger. Tom Daschle, who lectured all of us on prompt payment of our taxes, is a tax cheat. Reformist cabinet nominees like Bill Richardson and Hilda Solis could not themselves follow the laws they were asked to enforce. The would-be performance czar Nancy Killefer did not perform on her taxes. And then of course there is Burris. Too much.

Obama promised to clean up Washington; he bragged about his new no-lobbyist policies yet he hired insider lobbyists, ignoring his own ethics rules for example to appoint a lobbyist as Dep Sect of Defense! This is good judgement?

Now Obama, who claimed he would end politics as usual, plans to make Louis Susman, one of his biggest fundraisers, the new US ambassador to the UK. Sending a crony with zero pertinent experience to a plumb post wreaks of a "banana republic" as one observer put it. What is the difference between this and the "pay to play" scandal in which Blago apparently auctioned off Obama’s senate seat to the highest bidder. This reflects judgement?

Instead of drawing up his own economic stimulus bill he sub-contracted the job to Pelosi and that bunch and hit the campaign trail (actually, he never left it). That was poor judgement. As our readers know, the final bill is a fraud. Obama will not say "No" to the far left of his party because he is one of them. So instead of having Emanuel keep congressional Democrats in line, he left the bill to the most partisan members of Congress who then convinced the masses that it was irresponsible NOT to waste a boatload of their money.

Obama’s habit of predicting economic doomsday is just plain stupid. As the IBD put it, "Words like ‘catastrophe,’ ‘crisis’ and ‘depression’ are coming from the mouth of the newly elected president, rather than words of hope and optimism."

His housing plan is a flop from the get go. The crafting of that $75 billion bailout for 9 million Americans who face foreclosure, regardless of how they got into financial trouble, is Obama’s answer to the housing crunch. This exercise reflects poor judgement. Americans who have scrupulously kept up with payments now get to subsidize those who have not.

Obama let internal disputes over the question of bank policy result in a disastrous non-announcement of a non-plan. That was poor judgement.

Obama allowed Rahm Emanuel to politicize the Census Bureau, losing as a result the credible Judd Gregg as Commerce secty. That was poor judgement.

As Democrat Vic Hansen lamented recently, "For two years the media and the left transmogrified a bright and talented, though inexperienced Chicago pol into some sort of divine totem in which they could invest all their hopes and seek penance for all their sins. They are now learning ... that scoring points against Bush on the campaign trail and offering soaring platitudes with Rev Wright cadences, were not the same as governing the United States."

Bright and talented maybe, but judgement, common sense? The building blocks aren’t there.

Robert Craven