The Democrats thought the sun was shining.  The election of 2008 swept the Democrats back into power in Washington D.C.  – or so they thought.   It now appears that Washington is not so different than Punkin Center, Missouri.  Here in Punkin Center we live and die by old sayings.  The relevant saying aptly applied to Washington Democrats is “Make Hay While The Sun Shines.”  The idea is simple enough – some will say it is only common sense.  When the sun is shining go plant your crop.  How complicated is that?   So what happened?  Why has the Democratic leadership failed to”make hay?”

Hindsight is always easier – but that old saying will not deter us from using a healthy dose of hindsight to figure out what went wrong.  The election of 2008 swept the Democrats to control of the White House and Congress.  Washington D. C. felt warm and fuzzy – the sun was shining and it was time for the left wing of the left wing to make hay.  The problem was that the sun had merely peeked out of the clouds for a look around – the sun was not really shining on Washington.

President Obama took office in the midst of the worst economic crisis in eighty years.  Our country was engaged in two distant wars – unique wars where victory itself is cast in the shadows of storm clouds.  The culture of 2008, which continues to this day, was and is more politically charged, more adversarial, more divided than at any time in our history.  Mass media opportunities have given rise to the loud shout of minority voices on the left and the right.  Screams of socialism came from the right, unbridled capitalism from the left.

The President acted on the good faith advice of the best economic team available.  Banks and investment firms were bailed out.  The Auto industry was bailed out.  Health care delivery was to be re-engineered for the future.

The President acted on the good faith of the best foreign policy team available.  One war began winding down while another escalated.  Terrorists found new caves to incubate their fiendish plots.  The discourse of international relations changed from adversity to cooperation.

The sun was not shining.  But the Democrats in Congress and the left wing media hyped the opportunity to fundamentally change the relationship between the Government and the Citizen Class.  When the President pulled in the reins (he was the only Democrat aware of the overcast skies) the Congress balked, the left wing media balked.  A Republican won the Senate seat once held by JFK and his brother TED.  That election was like a loud crack of thunder from the storm clouds overhead.  Everyone finally looked up – the sun was not shining.

Missouri farmers fundamentally understand that if the sun comes out after forty days and forty nights of rain they should check the fields for mud before they go flailing around with their tractors.  The Democrats in Congress failed to check for mud.  Their tractor is stuck in the muck.  Muck is defined by certain laws of physics which include an inclination to act like black holes – once stuck always stuck.

President Obama is smart enough to recognize a stuck tractor when he sees one.  His State of the Union address this week will be a historical landmark – the President will announce a partial freeze on spending.  The left wing is already going bazonkers at the prospect.  They are shouting ‘Barack Herbert Hoover Obama.’  And they think they are being pretty smart.

We have written before about the difference between being smart and being clever.  Clever is waiting for one day of sunshine – smart is checking the field for mud before committing your tractor.

We have a great President in Barack Obama.  The greedy left wing liberals fail to understand the value of compromise.  Arianna Huffington, Ed Shultz, Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow – the list of the liberal left goes on and on – have consistently condemned this great President because he did not do exactly as the far left wished.  When the voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican the liberal left blamed the President.

The failure is not that of President Obama.  The failure is that of extremism.  Extremism looks just as goofy on the left as it does on the right.  Keith Olberman has sunk to the level of Rush Limbaugh.  And these two accurately represent the loonies of extremism.

The climate of politics is seasonal.  We are presently in the depths of winter (It seems man can affect the weather).  Spring will come.  The ground will thaw.  Gentle rains will fall.  The warm sun will shine.  Flowers will bloom.  Crops will be planted.  A healthy harvest lies ahead.  We just have to use a little common sense.