Nonplussed

So now that the whole craziness of shutting down the government and the Republicans imploding seems to be over (or at least off the front pages) for now, I find myself nonplussed.  Flummoxed.  Feeling like the better team lost.  I mean, how can you win or even play the game if the deck is stacked so heavily?  More than any other time since he was elected, I've come to the realization that Obama will say anything to win.  He will make flowery speeches and talk about negotiating and then do the opposite.  He will meet with the other side with no intention of a serious discussion.  His lies and scheming know no bounds.  For him it's all politics and winning at any cost.  It's smarmy.  It's unbecoming.  It's certainly not Presidential.  And it's decidedly un-American.

And there is no check to this behavior.  In a normal world, the responsible press would hold him accountable.  They would point out the discrepancies, the lies, the craziness.  But that isn't happening.  I feel like I'm in an alternate universe.  I really have no idea how there can be responsible governing or how we can move forward with policies that benefit the majority of Americans.

The debt has been and is exploding and there is no check to it.  The welfare state is like a giant snowball rolling downhill.  And healthcare...well, it's a disaster.  I just don't know how we're going to move forward.  The more I think about it the less surprised I am at the rise of the Tea Party.  I guess a lot of those folks just arrived at the level of frustration that I'm feeling a lot earlier.  I'm not ready to take the leap to joining the radicals on the right.  But it sure is tempting.