Well, here we are, a day away from a new President. Exciting, huh? I, myself, find it hard to believe that 8 years of Bush have gone by so fast, but POOF! They're gone, like a puff of dandelion dander in the wind.
Now, we all know what's going to happen about 2 years from now. Republicans of all stripes and flavors are going to come crawling out of the woodwork, jockeying for their chance to take the pole position in the 2012 race for President. Jindall of Louisiana, Crist of Florida, Palin of Alaska, Romney of Uta-er, uh, Massachuetts... expect a list of about 15 of them, all testing the waters to see if a run is even feasible.
They're all going to be asking you the same question:
"Are you better off now than you were in 2008?"
What an aggravating question. Who ever remembers? We're so short sighted! I mean, how many of you remember that when McCain secured the Republican nomination, National Security was a bigger deal than the economy was? Pffft, none of you. How many of you remember that is was just about a year ago that the mortgage market went into a freefall? None of you! We're in such a here-and-now society these days that it's hard for us to fathom how things used to be anymore, we only see how they ARE, and assume that must be how they always were.
So I'm providing you with a service today: A baseline you can use to judge the Obama Presidency. As of today, the last day of the Bush era (please, please, hold your applause...), here is where we stand as a nation:
Unemployment currently stands at a national rate of 7.2%.
Gas Prices stand at a national average price of $1.82 a gallon.
Oil is trading at $34.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8281.22, and the NASDAQ is at 1529.33.
The Median Sales Prices for Existing Homes, by region, is: $242,500 for the West; $154,500 for the South; $142,400 for the Midwest; and $257,700 for the Northeast.
The Consumer Confidence Index currently stands at 38.
National averages for some common consumer items are as follows: Milk, $3.82/gallon. Ground beef, $2.86/lb. 5-lb. bag of potatoes, $3.36. Apples, $1.51/lb. 5-lb. bag of flour, $2.46. Cheddar Cheese, $4.76/lb. Bacon, $3.37/lb.
In the Middle East, we still have 144,000 troops in Iraq as of August 2008; 4223 troops have been killed in Iraq as of January 2009. Obama ran on a promise to bring all troops home within 16 months.
Israel and Hamas are currently observing a cease-fire after a three-week offensive into the Gaza Strip by Israel, which was spurred by rocket attacks on Israeli settlements by the Palestinians, prior to and during the offensive.
The national mood seems to be pessimistic, with everyone wondering if they'll still have a job tomorrow.
And everyone's having a fit about the First Black President being sworn in.
Ok, HappyBack, great blog, but a little boring... can you spice it up a little?
Sure, here's a picture of some hot chicks looking at cars. Hey, whaddya want from me? Statistics are statistics. You want stimulation, go see a Scorcese film.
4 comments:
I think fickle a better word than short-sighted. It's not that people don't remember things that happend 6 months-2years ago, it just doesn't occur to them to think about it. They just trust the evening news (the true terrorists in my opinion) to tell them what's important to worry about.
i bet that anonymous is my husband. that totally sounds like him. but then again, i could be totally wrong.
i think the hot chick has a muffin top. not so hot.
you should repost this in one year, and give an update. and then again in two years. well-written, good points.
You are not totally wrong, it does sound like something that I would say but I didn’t post this. In addition, you know I would put my name on it. Whoever wrote this makes a good point about the media’s influence and the sheep mentality of many people. And just like sheep, they never quite know how they end getting fleeced.
I'd just like to add that more military service members have died in motercycle accidents per year then have died in Iraq/Afganistan.
I love certain songs by GreenDay, and Jase and I constantly would revert back to the lines from American Idiot "One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria." whenever we watched the "News" and they were covering anything political.
Hmm, guess we'll see how it all goes. If you can find it the video...I was watching part of the Presidential Inagural Prayer meeting (uh, not exact title but close enough.) When they all sang the National Anthem, from what I remember - the footage showed the front 2 rows...Mrs. Obama, Pres. Obama, VP Biden, Mrs. Biden, Mr & Mrs Clinton. 2nd row, White guy, black kid, Black woman at end behind Mrs Clinton (where were the Obama kids??)
Anyway, the Clintons and Pres. Obama & lady behind Mrs Clinton -- ONLY ones that put hand on heart for the singing of national anthem. Ahhh, refreshing to know our new leader's wife and VP and his wife couldn't be bothered with showing their Patriotism.
I look forward to next years stats.
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