THE “YEAR OF ACTION” AND OTHER MINDLESS MISFIRES

DATELINE: Sloganville, Apr 8 –  President Obama will sign a few more executive orders this week. This bunch will impose more regulations on federal contractors. They are part of his “year of action” announced during the 2014 State of the Union address.

This “year of action” is the President’s declaration of independence from Congress. He’s tired of seeing his partisan desires thwarted by the legislative branch. So, he’s striking out on his own, going his own way, doing his own thing, all by himself.

If Congress won’t do what he wants, he’ll do what he wants. Although he claims a willingness to work with legislators, he doesn’t make any sort of effort in that regard. He just signs his executive orders while uttering a seemingly endless stream of platitudes.

I guess he would say that asking is a waste of time because he already knows that Congress will push back. It’s a great excuse for doing what you want and making it sound like a good idea.

This year could also be called the “pen and phone” year since Obama loves to use that expression as well. He uses his pen to sign orders and his phone to rally various groups behind his vision of how they should live their lives.

Whether it’s “year of action”, “pen and phone” or any of the other Obama slogans, one thing is rah-rah clear. The guy is head over heels in love with trite especially when it comes out of his own mouth. Here are a few more.

“Win the Future”, first heard in his 2011 State of the Union Address, was dead on arrival. “We Can’t Wait”, which debuted in October 2011 and was meant to criticize a no-action Congress, gained zero traction even with Obama’s most ardent supporters. It resembled the plaintive whine of those standing too long in the bathroom line.

“An America Built to Last”, the theme of the 2012 State of the Union address, sounded more than a little like a truck ad. It bombed. “Greater Together”, another October 2011 slogan, was aimed at various groups in the Democrat coalition. It came off like an ice cream and cake ad. It also seemed to play down individualism in favor of the “collective”, which turned off large parts of non-coalitions.

Then there’s “A Fair Shot and a Fair Shake”. Both were heard in an Obama speech given in Osawatomie, Kansas in December 2011 and in his State of the Union address the following month. Sometimes they are used separately. “Fair” is a tough sell, though, because the meaning is so much in the mind of the listener.

After several captivating slogans in his 2008 run for the presidency, Obama’s 2012 slogan, Forward, came a cropper. Turns out, it’s been a main maxim of European Marxism for quite a very long while.

But, Forward does beat Backward or even Sideward, which is a word although no one uses it.

What does all this mean? Nothing, which is the problem with using way too many pious slogans in the first place.