Waving From The Limousine

Steven Pearlstein recognizes a troubling pattern in Washington, on Wall Street and across America. There is a sense of entitlement among the “elite” that is causing them to stumble on their way to the trough of public money.

For the American public, Daschle became the latest symbol of everything that is wrong with Washington — the influence-peddling and corner-cutting and sacrifice of the public good to private interest. Now that this system has let them down, and left them poorer and anxious about the future, people are angry about it and no longer willing to accept the corruption of the public process and the whole notion of public service.

The irony, of course, is that Barack Obama understood all this and tapped into Americans’ frustration as the central message of his “change” campaign. But even he, with only four years in Washington, failed to see the depth of the problem or anticipate the ferocity of the backlash.

Obama’s first mistake was to hand the keys of the transition office over to a crew made up almost exclusively of Washington insiders who — surprise! — have largely succeeded in restoring to power their friends from the Clinton administration. Worse still, he has fallen for the tired old Washington “wisdom” that the only way to get anything done is to concentrate even more power in an ever larger White House full of czars and councils and chiefs of staff who ostensibly are there to “coordinate” policy but invariably wind up making it, sapping the departments and agencies of whatever importance and energy and creativity they have left.

Whether it is freshly bailed out Wall Street banks trying to buy corporate jets or tax cheats who only pay up to get a nomination approved, this sense of entitlement skews their behavior. Nancy Pelosi defends condoms as economic stimulus without batting an eye. Recycled Clintonistas represent “change”. Companies line up begging for more and more taxpayer money while voters are losing jobs. The House Democrats ride roughshod over Republican members when crafting their “stimulus” then whine when Republicans won’t vote for it.

We voters have a problem right now and Washington and Wall Street don’t get it. They are the problem. We can’t continue to watch from the curb as they wave from the limousine roaring up to Capitol Hill to ask for yet more money for a newer limousine.