Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on March 3, 2009

By Vicki McClure Davidson * Frugal Café Blog Zone

The Dow is down… again. Major stock market indexes have fallen to levels not seen in decades. While stocks are plunging to record lows, Americans are having an increasingly harder time to buy food, pay their mortgages, keep their heat on. Confidence in the new president and the new Washington administration has dropped dramatically in the past week. Wall Street does not look at the economy emotionally, but realistically. The signs are that the new steps taken by the president are not embraced, not supported, and are detrimental to our nation’s financial stability. His operating budget exceeds that of any in history, and has an unprecedented 9,000 earmarks. Buyers’ remorse is setting in.

Here’s a tracking chart of what the Dow looks like from the beginning of Barack Obama’s “porkulous package” spending spree through today. How concerned is the new White House administration about this non-stop plummet? Not very.

Dow graph, from when Obama's porkulus package was approved through today

A compassionate president who has the nation’s best interests at heart would appear to also pull in the belt and curtail spending. Not with our current POTUS. Not only is he spending taxpayers’ dollars on expanding government and entitlement programs, he is having a heyday of expensive partying, of “livin’ it up with style” unlike former Pres. Bush EVER did.

Stop The ACLU has a great article today chronicling the White House/Obama elitist double-standards (“it’s gonna be tough,” “hard times ahead,” gotta get “skin in the game”), which has been ignored in the mainstream media. Here is a portion of the piece:

Since the presidency changed hands less than six weeks ago, a burst of entertaining has taken hold of the iconic, white-columned home of America’s head of state. Much of it comes on Wednesdays.

The stately East Room, where portraits of George and Martha Washington adorn the walls, was transformed into a concert hall as President Barack Obama presented Stevie Wonder with the nation’s highest award for pop music on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama enjoying a glass of champagne, 2009

A week before that, the foot-stomping sounds of Sweet Honey in the Rock, a female a cappella group, filled the East Room for a Black History Month program first lady Michelle Obama held for nearly 200 sixth- and seventh-graders from around the city.

Cocktails were sipped during at least three such receptions to date, all held on Wednesdays.

Bookending the midweek activity were a Super Bowl party for select Democratic and Republican lawmakers and a dinner for governors, the new administration’s first black-tie affair. It was capped with a performance by the 1970s pop group Earth, Wind and Fire. And a conga line.

The flurry of entertaining is in keeping with the Obamas’ promise to make the White House a more open place for everyone.

To read the hit-the-nail-on-the-head post in its entirety, go to Obama Still Partying While Nation Burns.

Another great post appears today in Michelle Malkin’s blog: Obama’s sorry cultists. A portion of her post:

I’ve reminded you before of NY Times’ columnist David Brooks’ boneheaded Ivy League ejaculations about the Obama administration. Now, the once-enamored Kool-Aid drinker admits his cult leader is not the man he knew:

“Those of us who consider ourselves moderates are forced to confront the reality that Barack Obama is not who we thought he was.”

Let us not forget his Valentine’s Day splurge, flying the family, including Grandma, and WH staff members on the presidential jet to Chicago so that he and First Lady Michelle could have dinner at the posh restaurant owned by Oprah’s chef. Obama’s last-minute decision, we’ve found out, cost local businesses thousands of dollars in restaurant bookings. And they were already struggling as a result of the tanking economy. Not only were aircraft grounded or delayed because of his arrival to the Chicago airport, but dozens of hapless restaurants within the perimeter of his romantic dinner were blocked off to the public. One near-by small-plane company reportedly lost $50,000 because the owner had to return all the pre-paid money couples had paid weeks prior to have an intimate, fun Valentine weekend flight, some wanting to “pop the question” while flying over the city. The couples, too, were denied access and had to scurry to find somewhere else to celebrate the weekend with their Valentine sweethearts. Lost $50,000? That’s SERIOUS money in any business. But, at least the Prez and First Lady were taken care of and ate well… not that there aren’t a few posh restaurants in the DC area that would not necessitate a mammoth gas-guzzling jet to get to, right?

UPDATE: Forgot to include Obama’s beloved $100-per-pound steak from Japan. Must be really yummy… too bad most of the American taxpayers who PAID FOR IT have never tasted it before. Anger just doesn’t fully describe or express how we feel about this conspicuous consumption by our supposed POTUS, our (temporary) steward of the Constitution. Obama is acting more like a spoiled-rich-kid frat boy with each passing week.

The country is rapidly losing its waves of good feelings for Obama, as his true agenda (socialism), recklessness with taxpayers’ money, and arrogance are being seen by more and more, even Democrats and supporters. Our days of the elected wastrel have only begun…

Additional reading:
Phelim McAleer & Ann McElhinney, Big Hollywood: Come Fly With Me | Obama’s Broadway date and Eco-Hyprocrisy

Categories: Economy, Frugal Ponderings, Government, Social and Political Climate
Tags: America, Barack Obama, citizens against government waste, earmarks, elitist, government waste, Japanese steak, market loss, Michelle Malkin, Obama, parties, party, pork barrel, pork barrel spending, porkulous, POTUS, president, spending, stock market, Stop the ACLU, Valentine's Day, wagyu, wagyu steak, waste