During the interminable 2008 campaign for president one of the things I found darkly amusing was that when Senator Obama told the masses he was an outsider who would reform Washington they lapped it up without asking a single question. Nobody ever seemed to point out the obvious: he's a politician from the Chicago Democrat Machine!
Reform?
I guess it just shows how gullible many folks are. For those of us who have taken a walk around the block once or twice it can be a shock to see so much naivete-- especially if you've lived in the Chicago area and watched this corruption up close.
So now BHO is President of the United States and in just the first two weeks a few people are starting to see what "The Chicago Way" means by "reform." His approval numbers are falling quickly. Rasmussen Reports showed his approval index number at +15 on 2/3/2009, down dramatically from +30 on January 22nd in the afterglow of the inauguration. Their polling also shows that the key reasons for this slide are the use of taxpayer money to promote abortion worldwide, the closing of Gitmo, and the corruption problems of his nominees.
Back during the week of the triumphant DC festivities John Kass wrote a column in the Chicago Tribune about Ray LaHood, Obama's Secretary of Transportation and a former Republican congressman from Peoria, IL. It's an interesting look at the culture in DC. Hard to remember now but there was a Republican Senator from Illinois before Obama. Peter Fitzgerald didn't play ball with business-as-usual and LaHood and his big money supporters turned on him. He chose not to run for a second term and the seat went to Obama, becoming the launchpad for all of our HOPE and CHANGE. LaHood might one day be a problem for Obama if they ever get a chance to dole out all of your hard-earned money for those "shovel-ready" asphalt and concrete plans in the states. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, at the Washington Examiner, the feeling is that The Chicago Way won't work in DC. Maybe. But that doesn't mean that Rahm and his gang won't keep trying-- it's the only way they know.
