Angry Congress lashes out at Obama

ECONOMIC WOES TAKING A TOLL
House Republicans call on Geithner’s head

To paraphrase Harry Truman, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” That is especially true now as 2010 elections loom. The blessing of incumbency has become the curse of 2010 and the nation’s vile mood is getting worse minute-by-minute.

The Washington Post report on Friday, November 20 says, in part, “Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration. ‘

Stories of unemployment and economic hardship back home are flooding Congress and nerves are raw   Obama’s allies in the Congressional Black Caucus, exasperated by the administration’s handling of the economy, unexpectedly and uncharacteristically went on a rant this week.  Republicans escalated their attacks on Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, including a call for his resignation if not political head..

Even Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), an Obama buddy  said that Geithner had been inconsistent in addressing China’s practice of keeping its currency low against the dollar.

Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Tex.) summed Geithner up as follows: “I don’t think that you should be fired,” he told Geithner. “I thought you should have never been hired.”

Perhaps most troubling for the administration was that one of the few measures to be passed Thursday was an amendment by maverick Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) that would subject the Federal Reserve to unprecedented scrutiny. The amendment, which won bipartisan support in the House Financial Services Committee despite the reservations of administration officials, would allow the Government Accountability Office to audit all of the Fed’s operations, including its decisions on interest rates and its transactions with foreign central banks.

More than 300 members of Congress have endorsed the measure – as they look to increase oversight of an institution they consider partly to blame for the financial crisis.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), said: “The recession has created a unique systemic risk that threatens all parts of the African-American community, including the poor and the middle class.” Unemployment among blacks in urban area, and particularly youth has skyrocketed with over half unemployed or underemployed setting the stage for a long, hot summer in 2010 harboring fears of unrest.

While unemployment is officially 10.2% private estimates put it higher overall. And much higher among blacks.

Unemployment is the number one issue on America’s mind and there is increasing dissatisfaction that Obama has not and is not being effective in combating it. That alone has festered into a putrid anti-incumbent  mood that has both parties worried and scrambling for cover.

The result is a spreading unrest with the defecation about to hit the impeller.

Based in part on an article by  Brady Dennis, Zachary A. Goldfarb and Neil Irwin Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 20, 2009