The American Spectator : Obama's LBJ Syndrome

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Obama's LBJ Syndrome

By Jeffrey Lord on 3.10.09 @ 6:09AM

From millions to trillions, the ghost of Johnson's credibility gap haunts Democrats.

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Here's a reference chart from WikiAnswers.com that Americans may find handy in the future Obama has planned for us all:

1,000 X 1 trillion = 1 quadrillion (10¹⁵)
1,000 X 1 quadrillion = 1 quintillion (10¹⁸)
1,000 X 1 quintillion = 1 sextillion (10²¹)
1,000 X 1 sextillion = 1 septillion (10²⁴)
1,000 X 1 septillion = 1 octillion (10²⁷)
1,000 X 1 octillion = 1 nonillion (10³⁰)
1,000 X 1 nonillion = 1 decillion (10³³)
1,000 X 1 decillion = 1 unodecillion (10³⁶)
1,000 X 1 unodecillion = 1 duodecillion (10³⁹)

Imagine. An American economy in debt to the tune of 1 duodecillion dollars. Your great-great grandchildren will not live to see a debt of this kind paid off.

There's a word for all of these numbers as they apply to Obama's vision of America. One word.

Bankrupt.

And you think Rush Limbaugh is wrong to hope Obama fails? Rush may be deaf but like Reagan he isn't blind, which is precisely why the Obama White House is spending so much time demonizing him and trying to change the subject about what they are really doing here -- and by extension demonizing Reagan himself. Rush knows a red flag when he sees one -- and they knew he would he know. Instead of being raked over the coals by the naïve for saying he hopes the President fails in all of this Limbaugh should be praised as a latter-day Paul Revere. He knows what's coming, as Reagan would know, if we don't fight Obama's LBJ Syndrome.

So should the rest of us.

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About the Author

Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (38) | Leave a comment

Deborah| 3.10.09 @ 6:59AM

And yet, we have Americans who just love this guy. They're all happily riding in the back seat as Obama drives the country off the cliff.

Is reality that hard to face? Come on, Republicans, look where we're headed and grab the steering wheel before it's too late.

Rocco| 3.10.09 @ 7:08AM

My dear Mr. Lord,

You may have been assuming many Americans have a solid grasp of history and even care. I wished it were true, but the reality of it is ugly. We have a citizenry (if it can be called that today), indoctrinated by a dumbed down (consciously, I believe) by a unionized, self-serving educational establishment working hand-in-glove with the Democrats, which is fat, dumb and happy, concerned with nothing more than "bread and circuses" in the form of "government cheese" and American Idol. The land of the free and home of the brave has become a flock of sheep, ripe for the fleecing. I wouldn't count on the Republicans - I have stated enough times on this site what I think of these psychologically castrated fools.

stu.b.con| 3.10.09 @ 7:46AM

It comes down to the simple fact that NO, there is barely an iota a grasp of history and an even less of a grasp of the economic and political implications of the obama's and his lemmings plans for our "future". Our society has gone past ignorance, even though there is more info available than ever, to a state of willful ignorance.
And yes Rocco, I agree with you that the dumbing down and indoctrination of the lemmings has been a conscious and concerted effort on the part of the liberal/socialist/democrats since the '30's and the venerated socialist "father" FDR.

I do take umbrage however with your blanket statement on Deborah and I being psycologically castrated fools. Yes, there are many, many useless fools who identify themselves as Republicans---oddly they are not conservatives like myself, they seem to fall into 2 categories 1. liberal r.i.n.o.'s or 2. self important opinionated cynics like yourself who prefer to cast stones and generalize in order to feed your insatiable ego. Oh, and do nothing.

You are no more the smartest man in the room than the obama, get over yourself

frost| 3.10.09 @ 7:54AM

Amen, Rocco. That's all, amen (and I'm a Deist!).

phil| 3.10.09 @ 8:20AM

And still, even though everyone wants to look at history, they still don't see what is happening. Why is Medicare running out of money?? What happened to the tax dollars supposedly destined for Medicare?? How long has anyone really been interested enough to ask the government to account for the tax dollars to insure that they are being used for the intended reason. This is the first time that the government has even attempted to be open about costs and expenditures. Did anyone ever think that Medicare was the fund that everyone dipped into when they wanted to fund a pork project. Look it up.....

Deborah| 3.10.09 @ 9:05AM

Just for the record, I've never registered as a Republican. They've mostly been the lesser of two evils.

Good article from Byron York in the D.C. Examiner on how the Founders would want Obama's plans to fail.

Madison specifically set up the Senate to stand in the way of those "misled by the artful misrepresentations of interested men"...Who does that sound like? His name starts with an "O".

York says the 41 Republican senators should be standing in the way, instead of letting Obama describe all of his policy prescriptions in terms of a crisis (health care, education, environment). Which let's Obama get away with not addressing the actual crisis at hand.

You can read it here: http://www.dcexaminer.com/politics/Why-The-Founding-Fathers-Would-Want-Obamas-Plans-to-Fail-40992107.html

Louis Jenkins| 3.10.09 @ 9:27AM

The point is quickly arriving when the taxpayer can no longer add to the golden cow of government. In fact, it is already here. Sharing the wealth, patriotic duty, each man according to his ability, are all just useless platitudes in this wrecked economy. The promises/programs/bailouts of today cannot be financed on the backs of a service economy workforce. Hard core manufacturing/exporting hit the skids twenty years ago and with it the jobs that made the US the world power house of the mid twentieth century. The US consumer has borrowed himself silly, sometimes at the facilitation of “Fanny Mac and Freddie Mae”, and cannot repay his debts. The consumer has not only drank the coolaid of “you too can live the good life” but has also allowed it to be administered by enema, douche, and intravenously. We have been reassured by Dr. Obama, and his team of specialists, that the current treatment plan will cure our ailments and we will once more walk upright. Just take your medicine little fella and you’ll get better! However, the more aid they render the sicker the patient becomes.

How much more blood can the taxpayer donate (confiscated) to revive this dying patient? And a gracious amount of this pathological disease started with LBJ. ‘The War on Poverty’ is failing, and more people are being taken prisoner everyday. Soon the POW camps will be filled to capacity by formerly producing taxpayers. Then what? In reality BIG GOVCO cannot take care of us. How long before we awake to this truth? Which is worse- the disease or the treatment? We are being lied to, misled, and hoodwinked by a bunch charlatans and ‘common’ brigands.

Sons Of Sam| 3.10.09 @ 9:28AM

Just for the record, how did LBJ get elected in the first place? Wasn't it at least partly because "moderate" Republicans sat by with arms folded and did nothing to help Goldwater?

We need to stop fighting among ourselves, and thumping our chests and talking about who's "more worthy". We need to remember Reagan's 11th commandment, and we need to unite in the face of tyranny. Anyone who thinks that the teleprompter in chief is going to stop at spending us in bankruptcy is missing the point. He HATES this country, and all that it has ever stood for! We need to stop fighting each other and concentrate all our fire against the ObamaNazis and their amen chorus in the lapdog media

until freedom dawns,
Son Of Sam
http://www.geocities.com/samadamssos/

stu.b.con| 3.10.09 @ 9:59AM

sorry for my assumption Deborah.

The article by Byron York is indeed excellent, definitely a must read.

Sons of Sam---Right On!

Rocco| 3.10.09 @ 10:22AM

Stu.b.con:

First off, you don't know me any more than you know the man in the moon, so for you to make the statement you make about me is just plain bullshit to put it mildly.

Second, when I refer to "Republicans," I always refer to our so-called representatives, senators and professional party leaders who make a living of politics, NOT any grass roots Republicans such as yourself or anyone else in this forum who are productive citizens who care deeply for this country. At the end of the day, we are on the same side. Any disagreement among conservatives plays into the hands of our opponents. Judging from what you write, you appear to be as frustrated as the rest of us. So let's wise the hell up and direct our fury to those who deserve it!

Rocco| 3.10.09 @ 10:40AM

Also, as a 30-year retired Marine veteran, I am entitled to an insatiable and outrageous ego..... LOL.

frost| 3.10.09 @ 10:50AM

Some excellent observations -- thanks Deborah too. It's comforting, knowing that there are some other people around actually able to put a few positive thoughts together, even in the midst of a narcissistic neo-Marxist and his socialist bunch.
In the meantime, a semi-tongue-in-cheek kinda "warning" -- always treat the word "comprehensive" with extreme caution.... Anytime it's used, it's usually in connection with the most obnoxious legislation imaginable, probably designed to reassure/snow, but more smoke'n'mirrors...
Now, if you'll excuse me, gotta work on cleaning the pool.

Peter McGrath| 3.10.09 @ 10:58AM

The issue, for either LBJ or FDR, was never, ever, the efficacy of these programs (Medicare and Social Security, respectively). Rather, the issue was the promise that those programs held for Democrats getting a death grip on power in Washington. Social Security and Medicare were set up to assuage (i) the fear of penury in old age, and (ii) the fear of becoming ill in old age. The legacy of FDR and LBJ was the false promise that the Federal Government would address those fears. Not surprisingly, anyone relying solely on Social Security in their old age truly is living in penury. Anyone solely relying on Medicare (without private supplemental insurance) will not receive adequate care. In both cases, the government utterly failed to deliver what was promised - what a surprise! Obama promises more of the same on a far vaster scale than either FDR or LBJ could even imagine. The misery Obama will inflict on the elderly and infirm is hard to imagine. It will be played out upon millions of victims in government sponsored nursing homes and hospitals. With the government in charge, it will only a matter of time before euthanasia is commonly practiced - as a "humane alternative" -and as a means of reducing the cost of keeping the inconvenient elderly alive.

Alan Brooks| 3.10.09 @ 11:03AM

LBJ was even worse than Carter, he turned the Vietnam war into a bloody abortion that haunts us to this day.

Deborah| 3.10.09 @ 11:04AM

Good points, all. It was Ben Franklin who said, "We must all hang together, gentlemen...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately."

We must unite in the spirit of 1776...our country hasn't been in this serious of a crisis since the Civil War in my estimation.

Those trying to pit Rush against Steele against Newt against social conservatives against neo-cons against conservative Democrats, etc.... are trying to get us all to hang separately.

As someone said on one of the videos of the American Tea Parties (I think from Asheville, NC--not known as a real conservative part of the state)..."This is not a Democrat issue or a Republican issue, it's an American issue." Amen, lady!

Alan Brooks| 3.10.09 @ 11:05AM

Vietnam led to Watergate, Watergate led to Carter's presidency.

Rocco| 3.10.09 @ 11:08AM

frost:

Amen, brother!!!

Man, you are one in a million.....take it easy with the pool!!

Ate logo, amigo!

Rocco| 3.10.09 @ 11:11AM

Deborah, how right you are. Read my post above; as I said, at the end of the day, we are on the same side and have the same objectives. Or, as you eloquently quoted Ben Franklin.

Be advised - I meant no offense to you or to stu.b.con......

Rocco| 3.10.09 @ 11:15AM

Plus, we on the conservative side ought to be "happy warriors," with a good sense of humor, going into the fight, not a bunch of sour pusses like the self-appointed messiah and his coterie!

Deborah| 3.10.09 @ 11:16AM

None taken, Rocco. I know how passionate you are about this country -- I recognize it, because I feel the same. TAS is a good place to spout off about it.

I agree -- we have the same objectives. Preserving this nation as a republic, not a socialist democracy.

Laney B| 3.10.09 @ 11:23AM

This nation no longer represents a cohesive cultural view. We are inundated by immigrants whose brush with democtratic republicanism is nil, and with a permanent undrclass whose major contribution to society is their wearing the mantle of victimhood. When a country becomes balkanized, as this one surely has, there is no striving to meet a common goal. A splintered nation of competing interest groups produces the type of power-grabbing centralized government because each faction looks to some overall authority to rule in their favor, and those with the most to gain get the attention they organize to attain.

We have relinquished the vision of The Founders, who recognized that the least government was the best government. A nation that is urbanized, dependent on foreign labor to control costs, and an educational system that indoctrinates rather than teaches is the sure route to civil war and demise.

The American Dream has become just that - a dream.

Obama Drools| 3.10.09 @ 12:00PM

Obama drools and the media eat it like fools.

Liberals hate history, they can re-write it, but can't change it.

Why they call themselves "progressives" is a mystery. They should be called "regressives". They want to go back and do 1930's style policy and put some chewing gum over it.

Son Of Sam| 3.10.09 @ 12:29PM

Hey there Rocco,
Just so ya know, I AM one very happy warrior, even if I sound more like the road warrior in my broadcasts. Being able to speak the unvarnished truth is a pleasure secondary to only a very few others

until freedom dawns,
Son Of Sam
http://www.geocities.com/samadamssos

jack| 3.10.09 @ 1:06PM

Obama has probably never heard of LBJ. The guy is an imbecile. Never forget this is the guy who thought Proper tire inflation should be an energy policy so we dont have to drill offshore. That statement alone should tell everyone the guy is an idiot.
His horrid treatment of Brown and Great Britain is another example of this guys absolute cluelessness. He has never held a real job. Has never managed anyone. Has never led.
His entire life has been facilitating payments to people who are not productive from those who are productive. Its all he knows.
Do you really believe this guy wanted to be a comm organizer? Of course not, no one would hire him because he was either too radical or not very smart. He is in payback mode for not being able to get a real job on wall street.
His wife didnt get a real job till Barry was able to get her one through his political connections. Sounds like the Clintons.
These people are the worst of America,they will destroy us. This guy appears to know very little history except that history that pertains to slavery.
It is obvious this guy can not move beyond race and his racist tendencies

Alan Brooks| 3.10.09 @ 1:13PM

better a road warrior than road kill.

stmichrick| 3.10.09 @ 1:19PM

Mr Lord's comment about the administrations'
results be damned attitude struck a chord.

Reminded me of the question, 'What's the difference between a Communist and a modern liberal?

Answer: The Communist KNOWS what he's doing.

Result: I don't think of the Obama people as liberals anymore. There is something American about the term 'liberal.'

These people are 'leftists;' the word fits because of its international banditry connotation.

Kind of like Che and Trotsky. There to gain power through chaos.

ruth| 3.10.09 @ 6:02PM

Great thread! Hope we can get our act together before it's too late.

Savy | 3.10.09 @ 8:34PM

Come on people. Obama is the answer! Yes, the Obama answer to our economic problem is to: tax more, spend more, play class warfare more, lie about his earmarks, lie about his tax cheats, lie about his lobbyists, oh...and call us rascist cowards. Yes, Obama is the answer. What a guy.

Bram| 3.10.09 @ 10:21PM

I thought LBJ Syndrome was the accumulation of a vast fortune while working as a "public servant."

Robert Pinkerton| 3.10.09 @ 11:54PM

Deborah, my solitary disagreement with paragraph 2 of yours of 10/03/09/1116 is an accidental omission: "Preserving this nation as a republic, not a socialist democracy." So far, so good, but it needs more: "... nor metropolis of an empire."

Bram, 10/03/09/2221: "In a mature society, 'civil servant' is semantically equal to 'civil master.'" -- HEINLEIN, Robert A., Notebooks of Lazarus Long, aphorism #47

COMMENTARY: 1. Michels on psychological metamorphosis of the leadership (Political Parties: An Enqiry into the Oligarchic Tendencies of Modern Democracy Part Three chapter I), Mosca on class separation (The Ruling Class, Chapter IV, "Ruling Class and Social Type," section 6)

2. IIRC, Charles deGaulle once characterized this country as having gone straight from infancy to senility without pausing in maturity. In flesh-&-blood bodies, as counterposed to the
(metaphorical) "body politic," such a condition is called progeria.

Uber Patriot Mike| 3.11.09 @ 1:17AM

Great thread! Thanks for deleting my posts! Your crowd of sycophants is going to explode with lust as you tell then what they already know. It's great journalism. *Thumbs up*

MT| 3.11.09 @ 1:44AM

Don't get pissy, Uber. Your comments were just too stupid to remain. Little libturds get their panties in a pinch. LOL

Ran| 3.11.09 @ 2:02AM

Peter M: "The legacy of FDR and LBJ was the false promise that the Federal Government would address those fears."

Exactly. FDR was all about the bullshit notion of "freedom from...".

Mr. Lord, thank you. [Please forgive me for not saying "Thank you L---!"] You've driven home the fact that this Administration is about securing eternal power for their Machine - It's nothing more than Chicago Illinois thuggery on major steroids.

Deborah| 3.11.09 @ 7:12AM

I've posted this link in another thread, but it seems very appropriate here. A short video of political systems. It is well done. Send it to your kids.

http://www.flixxy.com/political-systems.htm

durdge ette obama| 3.12.09 @ 7:31AM

Re the 30-Second Rule which Obama defines as health care causing a bankruptcy every 30 seconds, that has to be a big lie.

Quick calculations show that there are (give or take) 31,556,926 seconds in one year divided by 30, amounts to 1,051,897.5 bankruptcy filings per year.

Compare that to the facts: 2005 saw 2.1 million personal filings, mostly due to people rushing under the wire to file Chapter 7 before the ill-named Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act came into effect. Given that, 2007 saw 819,115 personal filings. 2008 saw 1,086,130. Obama would have us believe that everyone of these was medical cost-caused. Not true.

As a practising bankruptcy attorney, medical costs are not the predominant debt in most bankruptcies. It is one cause. More common debts are abusive credit card debt, unrelated to medical costs. And job loss. Car repossession and bad financial management. While medical costs can cause bankruptcy, I see no trend here that it causes a bankruptcy ever 30 seconds or constitutes all bankruptcies. One way you can tell is from the types of debts contained in the debtor's schedules.

Obama lies when he makes up statistics without the underlying PROOF. I don't like fact-benders in court or in the White House. Where's the follow-up with Christina Romer?