Keep The “Change”

The 2008 election was historic and inspiring for a multitude of reasons.  Both candidates were very deliberate in characterizing themselves as outsiders, free from Washington influence and the right person to shake up the system.  Enter candidate Barack Obama.  Candidate Obama, expertly marketed himself as the candidate for “Change,”  so much so that it became his campaign slogan, his mantra.  Candidate Obama took those simple six letters and was able to sell it as inspiration, motivation and interestingly enough political policy and I admit, I fell for it.  I bought his load hook, line and sinker.

The contrast between candidate Obama and President Obama is startling.  Candidate Obama’s version of Change included, changes in how the government operated, changes in how legislation gets passed and most of all, more input from the grassroots coalition of people that put him into office.

President Obama on the other hand has caved into the political pressure to get whatever policy he wants, by whatever means he can get it done. Even if that means including the so called Cornhusker Kickback and Louisiana Purchase in the Health Care bill which was already watered down by the partisan bickering, back room deals and corruption that he vowed to end.

I really started to see what President Obama’s vision of CHANGE looked like when the Deep Water Horizon oil rig exploded on April 22nd, killing 11 people and exposing this administration.  Off-shore oil drilling in the outer continental shelf is regulated by the Minerals Management Service and unfortunately, my first knowledge of this federal agency did not come from this oil spill.

I first learned of the MMS when an independent investigation into the interior department in 2008 showed that there was a “a culture of ethical failure” at the agency.  A culture that included, gifts, bribes, sex, drugs and a revolving door with the oil industry they were supposed to regulate.

Now all of this occurred under the watch of Obama’s predecessors, so naturally I cannot blame Obama for any of that.  That being said, if there were ever an example of something in the federal government that needed to be changed it was the agency that was known for sex, drugs and (rock and..) corruption.  Apparently this was done when the President appointed Ken Salazar as new head of the Interior Department.  As the oil spill has shown us this was not the case.

There have been reports of oil executives filling out inspection reports in pencil and then having MMS regulators trace over them in pen,  there was the infamous “crystal meth off the toaster,” and numerous other instances of “pay to play,” quid pro quo behavior.  The oil industry was “in bed with” (figuratively and literally) with the Interior Department.  President Obama knew all of these things coming into office, and has had a year to rectify them, yet he hasn’t.  In fact before the Deepwater horizon incident occurred, President Obama went down the same business as usual path he had been on and actually opened up more off-shore drilling. Some “CHANGE” that is.

Change is the essential element at the heart of this presidency.  He campaigned on it, he preached it, he sold it.  For all his talk about Change, I have seen some of it in action (Financial Reform, Health Care Bill, Climate Bill).  but in the midst of it, I have also seen him use the same old school beltway tactics that he campaigned to change.  So for some, when President Obama talks about Change, they may think of the historical nature of his election .  For me when I think of this president and CHANGE, I think of this:

If that is CHANGE, you can keep it.

R.I.P to the 11 workers who lost their lives as a result of the explosion on the deep water horizon oil rig.  Please keep their families in your prayers, as well as the residents and workers of the gulf coast states affected by this disaster.