Frost Heaves, Bumps in the Road, and Our Politicians

I try to stay away from politics here, but I can't stand this and have to vent.

I live in Alaska.  That means I am very well-acquainted with frost heaves, which are those nasty seasonal rises and depressions in what used to be smooth pavement.  Caused by multiple freeze-thaw cycles in roadbeds prone to water retention, you're lucky if your vehicle doesn't bottom out on them, or worse, have the front bumper and rear bumper crash onto consecutive frost heaves, leaving it suspended in the air, or your vehicle bumper-less and your gas tank leaking.

That's why I feel President Obama's pain when he recently spoke about a bump in the road.  Did you hear about that?  Here's a brief explanation to put his remark in context:

Terrorists attack our consulate in Libya and our ambassador is slain; Obama goes on Letterman and says "we can't think about the election all the time."

   

Anti-American demonstrations occur in twenty Middle East countries; Obama fund-raises with Beyonce and Jay-Z.  Tickets were only $40,000 each (yes, forty thousand), presumably so the 47 per cent could attend.

The Taliban attack Camp Leatherneck, killing NATO forces and destroying 6 Harrier Jump Jets, each worth more than double-digit-million dollars.

The President refers to all these things as a “bump in the road.”  He refuses to confirm the consulate attack was terrorism.  On Sept. 11? 

Secretary Clinton meets with top foreign leaders during the annual United Nations meeting in New York City: Obama goes to New York and appears on The View. The President won't meet with foreign leaders in New York nor will he meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu re Iran’s approaching nuclear threat and what will certainly result in world war.

As I said, I feel the president’s pain.  Perhaps we should smooth the road for him this November election day so he can devote himself to show biz full time.

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And, to put my ire into context, I just finished reading Bob Woodward's The Price of Politics, so I now have a clearer idea of how things work in dysfunctional Washington, DC.  Bob Woodward is the investigative reporter for the Washington Post (currently an associate editor) who, with Carl Bernstein in All the President's Men, helped bring down President Richard Nixon.

Woodward quotes both sides in his book, which deals with last year's negotiations regarding the debt ceiling and the deal that culminated in this coming January's sequestration and the so-called Fiscal Cliff.  

The juxtaposition of those quotes from those involved in the negotiations reveals much about Congress and the presidency.  The secret deals, the spin, the fibs, and the blatant lies to the public infuriate me no end.  And they come from both sides of the aisle.  

Let's just say we won, is one of them.  Or, this is good for us.

Simply put, you can't believe a thing any of them say.  I don't think they'd recognize a truthful statement to the public if it were a massive frost heave in their road.