Change We Don't Need

Obama the candidate promised change. And Obama the president has delivered on that promise.

Under Bush, we were fighting a global war on terror. Under Obama, we are engaged in an “Overseas Contingency Operation.” (Washington Post)

Under Bush, hundreds of suspected terrorists, including some of the masterminds of 9/11, were detained on an isolated island prison 90 miles from Florida. Obama is considering moving many of them to Manhattan and the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., in a neighborhood brimming with residents, thousands of federal employees and a booming business district 190 feet from the courthouse door. Alexandria officials and some legislators say that terror trials would take years, shut down roads and cost millions of dollars and could invite attacks from terrorist sympathizers. Business owners in the area surrounding the courthouse -- newly filled with hotels, restaurants and luxury apartments -- fear disruptions amid a declining economy. (Washington Post)

Under Bush, we had hard-core partisanship. Obama won the election partly on his appeal to bipartisanship and unity. But his idea of bipartisanship is not a meeting of the minds, of meaningful dialogue that results in compromise. Unity to him is unifying around his preordained agenda. Any disagreement is not PC. That’s why New Hampshire’s Republican Sen. Gregg withdrew his name from nomination as the Commerce Secretary.

Bush believed in trickle-down economics. Obama is practicing trickle-down government.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Katrina and two final years of a Congress controlled by spend-happy Democrats, Bush left us with a $1 trillion-plus deficit. In the aftermath of unprecedented bailouts, government takeovers of private businesses, stimulus packages and a Congress controlled by spend-happy Democrats, Obama promises to leave us with a deficit that could grow by $1 trillion every year he’s in office.

Bush was blamed for harming the global reputation of the United States. Consider what the world is saying after just two months of Obama change:

--In China – which is our largest creditor, having bought more than $1 trillion of our debt – Premier Wen Jiabao is expressing concerns about Obama's economic plan. “To be honest, I'm a little bit worried,” Wen said at a recent news conference. “I would like for you [a western reporter] to call on the United States to honor its word and stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets." (CNN)

--The head of the EU called Obama's recovery plan "the road to hell" that European governments must avoid. The comments by Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to the European Parliament today highlighted European differences with Washington on how to fix the world economy. (AP)

--And of course, the Ayatollah scoffed at Obama’s Iranian New Year greeting.

This kind of change we could live without.

For more on the contrasts of where we’ve been and where we’re headed, check out http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/25/castellanos.obama/index.html.