Are All Politicians Sociopaths?

Most dictionaries define sociopaths as follows:

A person whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

With the Blagojevich scandal in Illinois, the word "sociopath" is being thrown around a lot. Partly, this is being done as a future defense against any "disclosures" that he may make in implicating the politically powerful of Illinois and, just maybe, Washington. By making him seem a little crazy, other politicians feel that they are inoculated against any Blago accusations.

Certainly, you can point to a Blagojevich as a sociopath because he apparently has little or no moral compass based on his actions over the last few weeks. His little speech the day before he was arrested could easily be said to be "sociopathic" by its very nature (See that Video). But, this is what all politicians do. They are almost always on the defensive and they can either use their words as swords in their defense or as tools to sell their snake oils. If they aren't outright lying; then, they are twisting the facts in any way possible to elicit support from those that are listening to them. Their whole life is spent blurring the lines between truth and falsehood. That's what politics is all about.

Like Candles

For all of us, our lives are just like candles. For some, the candle burns long. For others, so terribly short. A fatal wind can extinguish our lives just like a sudden wind that robs the candle of its flame. The best we can ever hope to do is to burn as brightly as possible while we still have a flame. Always live your life to the fullest.

Bush's Dilemma: The Auto Bailout

Last night, the auto company bailout died in the Senate. This was all due to a strong block of Republicans opposing it. This morning, the White House announced that they will use the TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) or, in other words, the previously approved Congressional bailout money (the famous $700 billion)to provide a temporary bridge until Congress reconvenes.

Bush is doing this because he doesn't want to be seen as the "President who killed the auto industry in America." He also doesn't want to be associated with providing government funding and the subsequent debt to an auto industry that he and most people feel will continue to fail. That's because anyone with an ounce of brain power knows that funding without deep restructuring will just wind up being political suicide down the road. Instead, he would like to leak just enough money to get the autos limping into the next Administration's hands. This way, the full $35 billion needed by the auto companies will be tagged to Barack Obama and the Democrats. Then, if that money fails to resuscitate the autos, the whole mess will be sitting squarely in the laps of the Democratic party: from Barack to Reid to Nancy Pelosi.

For sure, the auto companies will get their help through to the next Congress; but, without any Republican senatorial help. The Democratic leadership will not be happy because they wanted the Republicans to be in bed with them on this. That way, the Democrats would have had political cover in the event that this funding doesn't work (Which it won't!). But, on the other hand, the Democrats will be somewhat happy because they will have been seen as working with Bush to save the auto companies and the United Auto Workers union. Bush will be happy because he will be able to "Pontius Pilot" himself from this problem and not have it be another stain on his legacy. The auto companies won't be too sad because they know that they will ultimately get their full amount of funding when Congress reconvenes under a new President. Now, is everybody happy?

Strange Bedfellows

Since Mr. Obama began forming his Administration, a strange thing has started to happen. The moderate left-of-center liberals appear to be feeling a little jilted over their pick for Prez (See Full Story). Those on the far left are really getting steamed. And, surprisingly, people on the right (not the far right) are pleasantly surprised by the somewhat centrist position that Mr. Obama seems to be taking with each new appointment in his Administration. He is even hinting at no tax increases in contradiction to his campaign promises.

It is no wonder that Mr. Obama appearing to be a highly political animal. But, he has played politics with every decision he has made. During the campaign, he has thrown so many people under the bus (even his own now-dead grandmother) that the damn bus is 40 feet off the ground. Now, it appears he might be throwing the liberals who got him elected under that same bus .

One can only wonder what is going on. "Me thinks" that he has decided to do the right thing for the country and not what is ideologically correct for his political party. If that be the case, he has, too, decided to manage this country from the middle and, in doing so, has the chance to become a great President. And, just maybe that's his goal. At the very least, he just might want to keep his new job for more than one term. If that be the case, his second term in office could wind up being a liberal landslide of legislation.

Conservatives are doing the right thing by backing this guy as long as he keeps on this path. In the meantime, the liberals are biting their lips and are getting a little concerned over the lack of change-left that they had anticipated. So, oddly, it is the conservatives who are in bed with Obama at this juncture and the liberals who are laying on the floor in confusion.

A Political Nightmare

I couldn't think of a bigger political mess than what has just been unraveled in Illinois.

You have a sitting Governor who has been indicted for, among many other things, auctioning off the United States Senate seat that is being vacated by Barack Obama. Out on bail, this guy "still" has the power to appoint an interim Senator to replace Barack Obama (See Full Story). If he does replace Barack with anyone, whoever does get that Senate seat will have a black cloud over his/her head because everyone will think that person got the job because they were in the bidding for it. On top of that, there are several unnamed "candidates" in the indictment that may or may not have been bidders for that Senate seat and complicit with the Governor's demands for "play for pay" on that Senate seat. These probably are all top politicians in Illinois who could wind up being indicted also. Further, the supposed friend of Barack Obama, Tony Rezko, is also named in this indictment. To top that, Barack Obama's name is referenced over 40 times in those legal papers that were filed yesterday; although there is no indication of any guilt in making those references.

As I said yesterday, this is Chicago/Illinois political corruption at its height. Normally, these kinds of things aren't so tragically exposed to public scrutiny. Typically, it's a bunch of backdoor deals that never see the light of day. Now, a whole mess of people, besides Governor Blagojevich (a.k.a. "Blago"), are bound to be indicted. Could those indictments include people who are either close to Barack Obama or, even, in his new Administration? Who knows? Only, time will tell. However, don't forget, Obama had to be knee deep in Illinois politics to get where he's at today. I just think that it was interesting that the man of so many words, Barack Obama, was somewhat at a loss for words yesterday when he denounced involvement with Blago.

I think you can be assured that this mess will somewhat tarnish Barack Obama's way into office; even if he had nothing to do with it. Further, this will just enhance the public's belief that there is nothing but corruption in politics. Lastly, it seems to be another big blow to Nancy Pelosi's 2006 election campaign slogan that tagged Republicans as being the only corruption in politics. The Democrats, from William Jefferson to this one, are working hard to take that moniker away from the Republicans. Isn't politics fun!

Chicago & Illinois Politics

This morning just proved, once again, how dirty Chicago and Illinois politics can be with the arrest of the current governor, Rod Blagojevich ( pronounced blah-goy-a-vich) (See Full Story).

The game of who you know is the popular sport in my former home state. Corruption in Illinois has always had money at its root cause. Before this morning's arrest of the current Governor, the previous Governor, George Ryan, a Republican, was convicted of selling government contracts and licenses and other state offerings of value. Apparently, corruption is an equal opportunity sport in the State and not just restricted to Democrats.

From the Mayor's offices of the City of Chicago to state Congressmen and to the Governorships, there has always been a long list of either convicted-for or implied corruption. With a Chicago politician now entering the White House, you really have to wonder how clean this guy is; especially coming from the depths of the Democratic Party in the City of Chicago. There has always been some questions about how he got to be an Illinois Senator and, then, a U.S. Senator. Was it Obama who earned the job or was it the political machine of Chicago and Illinois that elevated this man to his various progressions of office and, now, the White House(Here's a sampling). Oh, well. He was voted in and he will be our next President. Hopefully, he doesn't really have any typical Illinois political skeletons rattling around in his closet! This is especially true since the national media neglected their responsibility to this country by not adequately vetting Mr. Obama before he was voted into the Presidency.

Credit, Bad News, and Consumer Fears

No matter what the industry, the economic woes of that industry can be blamed on three things: (1) the current credit situation in this country; (2) the constant bad news about jobs and the economy; and, (3) and consumer fears over that bad news.

If you look at the auto industry, for example, people aren't buying cars because they either can't get credit or, because of all the bad economic news and the possible impact on their own economic situation, they are afraid to commit to the purchase of a big-ticket item like a new car. Even, more so, housing is in the same situation. However, the impact on the housing market is made worse by the continually falling home prices.

As I have said before, more than anything, a recession ,or even a depression, is 99 percent based on the psychological impact of consumer fears about the economy.

Right now, people and banks are cautiously guarding their cash. It is a justified reaction to the housing credit meltdown. The banks don't want to lend unless they are assured of the best credit conditions. After all, they don't want to get burned, again, by holding any more bad loans. At the same time, people don't want to over-commit on spending because of the uncertainty of our times. That means that spending has come down to essentials and hardly any money is be spent on the non-essentials; ie. that Cafe Latte every morning.

The consumer has assumed this fetal position because the news is consistently bad. Day after day, massive job cuts are being announced. The auto companies are talking about folding their tents and the possibility that 3 million more Americans might be out of work. Each month, existing home prices continue to fall. Foreclosures continue at record rates. The unemployment numbers are bad. And, almost every day, you have either Barack Obama or George Bush, Henry Paulson, or Ben Bernanke, or various members of Congress coming before the microphones in order to announce another program to fix the economy. This is just unsettling to the people of this country. That's why spending is down and that's why spending will continue to drop.

In order for this economy to get back to good health. The bad news and the psychological impact of that news has to stop. The announcement of layoffs, foreclosures, and increasing unemployment has to either level off or come to an end. The continuous declarations by our politicians have to come to an end. That only reassures the buying public that things are bad. Only when the noise stops about the economy will the consumer start spending again and effectively get this economy going again. All these government spending programs don't mean anything if the news continues to scare the consumer. There is a natural process of economic contraction that has to take place. The excesses of the last 20 or 30 years has to be shaken off. Only until those excesses are completely shed will things look better.

For example, spending billions on the auto companies will just keep them in business for a while. However, the real problem, the consumer not buying those cars, is going to be out there for quite a bit longer. To me, our politicians have this all backwards. They want the economy to adjust to the failing car companies. However, the reality is just the reverse. The auto companies are going to have to adjust to the failing economy. That means jobs, expenses, and product lines will have to be adjusted downward to meet the current economic conditions. People are not going to rush out and buy a $26,000, around-town only electric car that will need a multi-thousand dollar battery replacement in just a few years. The future of our auto industry is not in those electric cars. For that matter, the same is true with the hybrids. This isn't a consumer-driven move by the auto companies to sell more cars. Instead, it is being driven by our own politicians and their newly passed fuel efficiency laws (CAFE standards); which, in light of falling oil prices, seems less important, today, than keeping our auto workers working.

Having a sounds-good political commitment to creating 2.5 million jobs over the next four years on infrastructure "ain't hardly gonna do it" when nearly 2 million more people than normal are losing their jobs every year. Do the math. The Bush Administration and our Federal Reserve Banking system are correct in focusing on credit. Available credit will ultimately help get the consumer and businesses spending again. However, only after the economy adjusts to a new leaner lifestyle will the journey through this recession come to an end. Just mark my words.