A thought about the Obama compromises

The American public has been furious about the failure of the politicians in Washington to pass legislation in its interest. That was evident in both the elections of 2008 and 2010, but the fury has been building for some time.

Barack Obama has been criticized by both parties for the compromises he pushed forward in the stimulus bill, in the health bill, and in the recent budget package for 2011. This session of Congress has been quite good in passing important legislation, and I feel that the economy is in much better shape than it might have been due to that legislation. The health care law is going to provide health insurance for millions of people who would otherwise not have been served, and according to independent sources will not increase our health care expenditures. Incidentally, this term has seen real support for infrastructure expenditures, for science and technology and as such is likely to help America's long term economic prospects.

I note however that there have been a lot of angry voices on each of the important bills, not least on the compromises that Obama has made. The people who have been loudest in their complaints are of course exactly the people who have jammed up the legislative process in recent years preventing those compromises necessary to its functioning -- people both in party leadership and in the media.

Perhaps their screams are a good sign that Obama is really changing Washington and getting things done!