Read Between the Lines

I am usually very interested to read the opinion section of the New York Times but I have to say that this week has gotten me on a slow burn – directed at the columnists themselves.

It's like watching a group of Monday morning quarterbacks pointing fingers at the foibles of the offense without acknowledging the game plan for the defense. On the one hand these well versed pundits point out how enraged this nation is over the financial culture that has been "unearthed" over the last six months. In the same breath they begin haranguing the current government for not doing more, doing smarter, doing harder. These harbingers of doom are standing on the white house lawn with bull horns- like season ticket holders on the sidelines – screaming for the runner to run faster, the quarterback to throw straighter, the defensive linebacker to block better.

The man has been in office all of two months. He is still trying to get his cabinet up and running. He's come in as relief running back/ quarterback in the 4^th quarter. And yet suddenly he is responsible for the last three quarters of play. It's his fault – or someone in his cabinet's fault that the banks aren't lending or that AIG let billions of dollars drain back into the hands of Wall Street players (and foreign banks).

The voices are shrill – hot and anxious – do something, Mr. President! It's going to be your fault, Mr. President! Why aren't you doing more, Mr. President? You don't love us like you said, Mr. President! You aren't superman, Mr. President?

Let's put the blame and anger squarely on the shoulders of those that should bear that weight and give this administration some time to actually try and stop the bleeding. Obama didn't create this gaping, oozing wound and to think that it can be fixed with "sterner language" or some magic wand that obviously people think he carries in his back pocket is ridiculous.

It's easy to second and third guess current strategies for fixing the "Great Recession" that we are in. Shifting the blame for the continued collapse of our financial markets from those that perpetuated it – and the administration who for the last eight years fed it (and turned a blind eye) – to the current administration is childish and hardly helpful to the current dialogue.

The media love fest for Obama is obviously over. Good. So stop sulking; stop whining about the fact that he's somehow not living up to your idealistic standards of a messiah and get a grip. Your anxiety is not helping this country deal with the issues at hand.