Elections 2010: Bill Maher Gets Right What Jon Stewart Got Wrong

Monday Sept 20, CNBC televised a town hall meeting during which Velma Hart told President Obama, “I’m exhausted, exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantel of change that I voted for and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. I have been told that I voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I’m one of those people and I’m waiting sir. I waiting. I don’t feel it yet.”

[I urge you to watch this complete exchange, which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnMMo8lVG5M None of the excerpts that are commonly show do justice to President Obama’s response.]

This interchange turned Ms. Hart into a short-term celebrity and provoked very different responses from Jon Stewart (Sept 21) and Bill Maher (Oct 1).

Jon Stewart chose to highlight areas where Obama’s performance has disappointed the far left (for example his difficulty in closing Guantanamo and his Healthcare reform that is not single payer and lacks a public option). To me this is the wrong response.

Bill Maher got it closer to correct. Earlier in the show Bill’s guests bought into the complaint that Obama has not done enough for the middle-class to paraphrase, they agreed that “Obama took care of Wall Street, but where is mine?” is a valid middle-class complaint. And Bill’s first response to Ms. Hart (“If you’re like Velma and tired of making excuses for Obama, think of how tired he is of making excuses for you.”) was entirely off point.

But then Maher got into the Democrats real accomplishments (his list my phrasing): preventing the country from sliding into a depression, forcing health insurance companies to insure pre-existing conditions, removing banks as money making middlemen in student loans, lowering taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year, enacting the credit card bill of rights so that credit card companies can no long raise interest rates on money you have already borrowed (I would be out of debt now if that had been in place 20 years ago), restarted stem-cell research, got 2/3rds of troops out of Iraq, and signed a nuclear treaty with Russia. 

Given the entrenched Republican resistance to the Democratic agenda, this is a remarkable list of accomplishments and it is not nearly a complete list.

In a recent campaign speech President Obama said he kept a list of his campaign promises in his pocket and he had kept about 70% of those promises. Politifact.com attempted to fact check this, but without seeing Obama’s list could only authenticate about a 24% “kept” rate. They do note, however, that they may grading some items he counts as “kept” as compromises and some as “in the works.”

As an Obama supporter, I am happy to reflect on Politifact’s more stringent list. They have identified 506 Obama promises, 122 of which have been kept, 41 of which resulted in a compromise, 237 of which—including the repeal of don’t ask don’t tell—are in the works. My wife would be thrilled if I made that kind of progress on my todo list, and I don’t have any Republicans working against me. (Well, some of my in-laws are Republicans, and they are not my friends, but that has nothing to do with my todo list.)

The point is that after two years of entrenched Republican opposition—which prevented President Obama from accomplishing his goal of ushering in an era of bipartisan cooperation (see my Elections 2010: Throw All The Bums Out)—President Obama has a considerable record of achievement. Unfortunately the middle class doesn’t feel it. Thus we have an enthusiasm gap.

And that brings us to the biggest error both John Stewart and, to a lesser extent, Bill Maher made. Velma Hart and many working Americans are saying “Wall Street and the Car Manufacturers got theirs. When do I get mine?” They want a tangible reward for doing what was best for the country.

That is what the Republican supporters want. If the rich who are backing the Republicans get to keep the Bush tax cuts it is worth hundreds of thousands to many and millions to a few. They are voting their pocketbook.

And those of us who earn less than $250,000 a year did get some pay back. We got a tax cut that has been figured into our monthly withholding taxes. President Obama would probably have been better off if he had arranged to have part of our tax cut sent to us directly, but giving it to us a little each month works better as an economic stimulus.

Like most of you, I cannot tell you what my tax cut is worth in total. Changes in my wages, withholding status, deductions for employer health insurance, etc mask the amount. I only know it is there because I carefully followed the stimulus debates.

But even if I did not receive a nickel, I have been rewarded by my vote for Obama. By preventing the Country from sliding into depression, Obama and the Democrats give me the ability to drive to work without seeing other citizens standing in soup lines or living in Homerville-like shanty towns. That is a benefit to me.

Thanks to the auto bailouts I can drive by GM and Chrysler dealers with lots of new cars, detailed by low wage employees, serviced by mechanics, sold by working salesmen,  with paperwork prepared by working clerks. That is a benefit to me.

I am not an illegal immigrant, but I know the President Obama and the Democrats are the immigrants’ best chance for humane, comprehensive immigration reform. That will help the immigrants and the US economy and that is of benefit to me.

Similarly President Obama and the Democrats are the best chance this country has of enacting legislation that will advance green technologies within this country. The green jobs and lowering of carbon dioxide levels may do little to me, but they may have a great impact on the quality of life here when my daughter is my age.

To sum it up, “Where is our patriotism? Are we so self-centered we will only vote if we get something direct benefit? What about voting for what is best for the country—even if we are not enthusiastic about it?"

I am not enthusiastic about the bowl of soup I am having for dinner tonight (my wife is out of town). It is not a T-bone with all the fixing, but it will keep me from hunger, and I am fixing it in my microwave in my safe (relatively) and dry rent-a-hovel. If I look at the way things could be, maybe I should be more content.

You don’t have to be enthusiastic about it. Vote for what is best for the country! Pass it on!

Comments

[Concerned citizen]

Right on Giles. Sometimes the best things in life do not affect us directly but indirectly in how we help others. I'm voting for change - democratic - and supporting our president.