The announcement that President Obama will be Ohio State University's commencement speaker on May 5 could hardly have uplifted the editors of the Columbus Dispatch to a state of chest-pounding hometown pride. No paper in Ohio worked harder to defeat Obama in last November's election with its editorial endorsement of Mitt Romney, a candidate it credited with possessing "real-world experience to lead nation out of economic malaise".
As for Obama, the paper complained that he had traveled in the "left lane" all of his life, had no real-world experience and was an absolute failure in correcting the national economy's dismal course during his first term. The president's health care plan, it declared, was nothing more than a " ham-fisted power play". When it comes to attacking Democrats, the paper always adds a lot of etc. etc. etc's.
Well, as history will show, the paper's home county of Franklin was hardly persuaded by the Dispatch's eternal struggle against Democrats and voted for Obama anyway.
So now, with the kindly attention of OSU President Gordon Gee, who invited him, Obama will arrive as the national five million vote victor over the wealthy what's-his name opponent in the last campaign.
I don't mean to be churlish or anything about the Dispatch, but I did want to point out that the Obama visit will present itself more as a Mayday for the paper's deep thinkers.
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As for the specious contention that Obama's first-term efforts to right the sinking economy came to naught, such assertions -- in newspaper editorials and Republican oratory -- fail to acknowledge the administration's initiatives to stabilize the banking system, rescue the domestic auto industry, extend unemployment pay, and ram through an economic stimulus bill that helped keep hundreds of thousands of workers on state, local and private payrolls. All that, despite obstinate opposition by Republicans in Congress to undermine or dilute the president's endeavors. Indeed, this reckless obstinacy persists in his second term as House Republicans -- paralyzed by the enduring threat of Tea Party opposition in the 2014 GOP primary elections -- seem hell bent on curtailing the economic recovery by refusing to budge on a balanced plan to prevent huge spending cutbacks in defense and domestic programs. If they eventually succeed in that, the Republicans then could be emboldened to carry out their next threat: shutting down the government altogether. No wonder the stock and financial markets are beginning to waver.
Into each life, even the Mismatch's, a little rain must fall...
I'm thinking, thunderstorm!
"the Obama visit will present itself more as a Mayday for the paper's deep thinkers." If Glenn Sheller and Jaok Torry are the Dispatch's deep thinkers, I'd hate to read their shallow ones. Sheller is one ugly little guy. And John Wolfe's chosen voice of the paper, which speaks volumes about Wolfe, all of it bad.
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