Quit whining.

Ok, so we had the State of the Union Message where Obama showed a reasonable understanding of the mess we’re in, accepted a minor role in creating it, and offered a laundry list of solutions…while Michelle displayed a curious outfit that Sweetie and Jeri liberally commented on.

Two days later he exposed himself to the House Republicans and showed that he knew more about them than they knew about themselves.  Nah-na-na-na-na-nah.  No wonder they were a bit miffed and somewhat dismissive following the meeting.  Nevertheless, everyone had a good time and promised to do it again during the next Great Depression.

MSNBC, through the never-let-em-get-in-a-word-edgewise Chris Matthews and the crazed Keith Olberman, lavished great praise on the President while making funny faces at the Republicans.  Fox News proclaimed a great victory for the Republicans citing as evidence their superior ability to rise up and sit down as one, much like the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.  Some even had better legs.

During all this I found myself alternately thinking “The worst is behind us” immediately followed by “This too shall pass and they will be at each other’s throats again.”  Or “Maybe they can actually play nice and pass some meaningful legislation” followed by “Not a chance, another election is only nine months away.”

My local rag, er…newspaper, the Ventura Star, dutifully published letters to the editor that blasted Obama for not sleeping in a cardboard Samsung TV packing box on a river bank in order to understand the problems of the common folk.  Or praised him for actually being able to speak in complete sentences, in contrast to the fellow who left town with an upaid Oval Office bill of $1.3 trillion.

It’s amazing what a guy can be blamed for in 370 days in office.  Then again, who else should we blame?  Those faceless folks who sit in Congress?  Quick, who represents your district in the House?  No, Tip O’Neill died in 1994.

Great shouts of indignation arose on the street.  “Throw the bums out. Replace every one of those bastards who sit in Congress, who go on vacation with lobbyists, and who enjoy free health care benefits.  Then send us new bastards.”  Or “Term limits, that’ll fix ’em.”  Better yet  “A constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget…without tax increases.”

Left unsaid were things like “My greed played a part in all this.  I should have never taken that million dollar mortgage on my $5,000 a month salary.”  And “My credit card debt is greater than the gross national product.  Why did those banks let me borrow so much?”  Or “I only sent money to the good PACs, not the other ones.”  Plus “I signed every petition that strange guy at the market put in front of me.  Especially those that hamstrung my elected representatives.”  And proudly, “I voted against every tax bill that would have kept class sizes from spilling out into the streets or let kids go to college without making them indentured servants.”  There “I did my part, what about those guys?”

Without a 60 vote majority in the Senate predictions of eternal gridlock abound.  They might as well all go home until the November elections are over.  Then the Republicans can take charge and look like the Democrats, except be a bit whiter, have fewer women on display, and dress a whole lot better.  The House will take on the characteristics of the monkey cage at the zoo and pass meaningful legislation governing the way we speak and with whom we can have sex.  And, blessed be the Supremes, we no longer need to send campaign money to our favorite politicians.  Thanks to them, that will be handled by Exon, J.P. Morgan and Taco Bell.

There, I’ve done all the whining for you.  Now you can pull your boots on, shoulder your load and do your part.  You might as well.  No one’s going to do it for you.