Open Letter to the White House - Doing Your Job
Dear Mr. President:
I see that a reporter recently asked if the geometrically-increasing revelations of misconduct in your administration bother you at all. Your response, if Time Magazine has it right, was "There is some background noise here...but the American people expect me to do my job, and I'm going to." As usual, sir, you are completely out of touch with what the American people think. We know you don't read, but don't you even watch television?
Leaving that question aside for the moment, I should begin by expressing my relief at hearing anything at all from you recently. I was beginning to think you were sick or something; there's been barely a word from you since Hurricane Katrina hit and you told your buddy Michael Brown that he was doing a great job. Considering the uproar that foot-in-the-mouth statement provoked, perhaps you finally wised up and decided to keep your trap shut for a while; I certainly would in your shoes. It's more likely that, with so many of your brain trust appearing before the grand jury or under indictment, you simply didn't have anyone to tell you what to say.
Given all that, I can't quite locate the source of your statement that the American people expect you to do your job. If it's true that you decided on your own to clam up after Hurricane Katrina, what motivated you to open your mouth at a time like this? If it's true that you stopped talking because the people pulling your strings were busy, why didn't you wait for their schedules to clear before you donated that comment? In any case, sir, what in God's name possessed you to say something so inane?
Expect you to do your job? It should be obvious from the poll numbers that by now, the last thing most Americans expect is for you to do your job. You might have gotten away with a whopper like that a year ago, or even this past summer, but the corruption and incompetence of your administration are at present so blatant, I'm a little surprised you have the audacity to appear in public at all, let alone talk to reporters.
And as for the "background noise" crack - well, Mr. President, it's hard to imagine what you would consider to be foreground noise. With your deputy chief of staff, your Vice President's chief of staff, and your Vice President himself under suspicion of blowing an American intelligence agent's cover, not to mention the bumbling of your various cronies during national emergencies, you relegate all these dangerous and desperate crises to the status of mere annoyance? America is rapidly losing confidence in you, your administration, its own capability to deal with breakdowns and its very sanity, and you describe this terrifying state of affairs as though it could be tuned out in favor of something more important? Like what? At least at your second inauguration you had a program of sorts, however misguided. What exactly do you conceive this job of yours, that the American people expect you to do, to be? Giving another soft government job like Supreme Court justice to another buddy of yours, whether she can do it or not?
As one of your employers, then, allow me to educate you as to exactly what job I expect you to do. I expect you to keep your various promises, including the one to immediately fire any member of your administration who breaks the law. I expect you to deal with the facts of life on the ground in Iraq, in New Orleans, in Florida and everywhere else, whether you find it pleasant to have those facts presented to you or not. Indeed, I expect you to receive unpleasant reports cheerfully. I expect you, based on those reports, to generate and quickly implement workable strategies to fix problems and to protect the lives and property of American citizens. When your plans fail to produce the desired results, I expect you to change plans at once, and to at all times adopt the advice of knowledgeable people whether or not they are friends of yours or loyal to you. Failing all this, I expect you to express your commitment to America's health and success by resigning in favor of someone more able than yourself.
Well, we all know what it's been like lately, don't we, sir? I want your resignation and I want it now.
I see that a reporter recently asked if the geometrically-increasing revelations of misconduct in your administration bother you at all. Your response, if Time Magazine has it right, was "There is some background noise here...but the American people expect me to do my job, and I'm going to." As usual, sir, you are completely out of touch with what the American people think. We know you don't read, but don't you even watch television?
Leaving that question aside for the moment, I should begin by expressing my relief at hearing anything at all from you recently. I was beginning to think you were sick or something; there's been barely a word from you since Hurricane Katrina hit and you told your buddy Michael Brown that he was doing a great job. Considering the uproar that foot-in-the-mouth statement provoked, perhaps you finally wised up and decided to keep your trap shut for a while; I certainly would in your shoes. It's more likely that, with so many of your brain trust appearing before the grand jury or under indictment, you simply didn't have anyone to tell you what to say.
Given all that, I can't quite locate the source of your statement that the American people expect you to do your job. If it's true that you decided on your own to clam up after Hurricane Katrina, what motivated you to open your mouth at a time like this? If it's true that you stopped talking because the people pulling your strings were busy, why didn't you wait for their schedules to clear before you donated that comment? In any case, sir, what in God's name possessed you to say something so inane?
Expect you to do your job? It should be obvious from the poll numbers that by now, the last thing most Americans expect is for you to do your job. You might have gotten away with a whopper like that a year ago, or even this past summer, but the corruption and incompetence of your administration are at present so blatant, I'm a little surprised you have the audacity to appear in public at all, let alone talk to reporters.
And as for the "background noise" crack - well, Mr. President, it's hard to imagine what you would consider to be foreground noise. With your deputy chief of staff, your Vice President's chief of staff, and your Vice President himself under suspicion of blowing an American intelligence agent's cover, not to mention the bumbling of your various cronies during national emergencies, you relegate all these dangerous and desperate crises to the status of mere annoyance? America is rapidly losing confidence in you, your administration, its own capability to deal with breakdowns and its very sanity, and you describe this terrifying state of affairs as though it could be tuned out in favor of something more important? Like what? At least at your second inauguration you had a program of sorts, however misguided. What exactly do you conceive this job of yours, that the American people expect you to do, to be? Giving another soft government job like Supreme Court justice to another buddy of yours, whether she can do it or not?
As one of your employers, then, allow me to educate you as to exactly what job I expect you to do. I expect you to keep your various promises, including the one to immediately fire any member of your administration who breaks the law. I expect you to deal with the facts of life on the ground in Iraq, in New Orleans, in Florida and everywhere else, whether you find it pleasant to have those facts presented to you or not. Indeed, I expect you to receive unpleasant reports cheerfully. I expect you, based on those reports, to generate and quickly implement workable strategies to fix problems and to protect the lives and property of American citizens. When your plans fail to produce the desired results, I expect you to change plans at once, and to at all times adopt the advice of knowledgeable people whether or not they are friends of yours or loyal to you. Failing all this, I expect you to express your commitment to America's health and success by resigning in favor of someone more able than yourself.
Well, we all know what it's been like lately, don't we, sir? I want your resignation and I want it now.
posted by benshlomo at 3:31 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home