Don't politicians' arms ever get tired from the exertion of patting themselves on the back?
Granted, as a question it is not up there with "What is life?" But I was taught that self-congratulation is unseemly and praise is something best left to others to bestow on you, if they so choose.
It is no coincidence that the question arises, however, in the wake of the vote in the House that approved cutbacks in the budget to the tune of $39.5 billion.
After some very intense lobbying, the bill passed by the overwhelming margin of two votes, 216-214.
Nonetheless, that did not stop Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., from saying that the House's action was "a step toward restoring public confidence in the fiscal integrity of our national legislature."
Really, Mike?
It may appear that way to the esteemed congressman from the great state of Indiana, but I can't help but think it's going to take a lot more than this smarmy budget-cutting gesture to restore the confidence that our elected representatives have squandered.
Ordinarily, $39.5 billion would seem like a lot of money to most people. But to this Congress, it's peanuts. A mere burp in relation to the federal budget; a hiccup in relation to the country's GDP; a blink in relation to what we've poured into Iraq over the last few years; a scintilla in relation to the amount that has been run up in tax cuts since 2001.
Nonetheless, the bill is a triumph in some eyes because most of the cuts come at the expense of the poor, the sick, the old and the student population.
