Overloading

So now, the complaint is that the President is doing too much! Overloading, they call it. Too much thinking about education, or health care, or energy, or the environment; too much time wasted that should be focused on the economy. Of course they think he’s doing too much, these defenders of Vacationer-In-Chief George Bush.

And, of course, he has to focus on more than one thing at a time. That’s a prerequisite for the job, isn’t it? Here’s what the President himself said about the issue the other day, “I know there are some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. They forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad, passed the Homestead Act, and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of Civil War. Likewise, President Roosevelt didn’t have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war. President Kennedy didn’t have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don’t have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term. America will not remain true to its highest ideals – and America’s place as a global economic leader will be put at risk – unless we not only bring down the crushing cost of health care and transform the way we use energy, but also do a far better job than we have been doing of educating our sons and daughters; unless we give them the knowledge and skills they need in this new and changing world.”

It’s all tied together, after all. Health care, for instance, is a tremendous drain on the entire economy. While we spend over $2 Trillion dollars annually - almost 16 per cent of gross domestic product - our return is much less than any other modern, industrialized society. Most Americans obtain health coverage through their employers. As the economy continues to falter, however, more people lose their jobs (and their coverage) and more employers find it difficult to sustain the now greater-percentage costs. Then, of course, there are the roughly 45 million - and growing - uninsured Americans who, apart from the social costs of their situation, also represent a huge drag on the health-care economy. And don’t get me started on how health care costs have affected the bottom line of such American institutions as General Motors. It's all tied together.

John McCain’s advice – from a self-described non-expert on the economy, don’t forget – is that he’d ‘like to see more focus’ on the economy. These days, John McCain would like to see more focus on just about anything. Do you really think Mr. Obama would accomplish more by doing less? And McCain’s focus now?: earmarks! Come on! There's a bigger picture here. Get over the earmarks, Mr. McCain, and get with the program, or a pock on us all.