Barack Obama and the Pharoah's Lean Years

Joseph in Biblical Egypt ... a lesson for the United States.

The story of Joseph's rise to great power in Egypt some 1800 years ago is well known and, even, supported by non-Hebrew historical records and research. Joseph, after a tumultuous period was incarcerated and, when the Pharaoh had several disturbing dreams that his advisors could not satisfactorily interpret, called upon the imprisoned young man to do just that. Joseph, it seems, had demonstrated an ability to discern the meanings of dreams.

In any event, Joseph told the Pharaoh that Egypt would have seven years of abundant plenty, its crops would flourish , its herds of animals multiply and, in general the nation's economy would boom and its people would be prosperous. Following the years of plenty and prosperity, however, the country would be plunged into seven years of drought and nation-wide (and, as it turned out, region-wide) famine and depression.

Joseph was appointed Czar of economy management, in effect the second most powerful official in the government.

The events followed Joseph's prediction. During the years of plenty, storehouses were filled to overflowing with grain and produce. When the years of famine commenced, Egypt was the only country that was in a relatively solid condition; its economy boosted by the sale of stored food to other nations, as far away as Greece according to some accounts.

Joseph, or the Pharaoh, did not have to deal with a legislature.

There is a lesson here for the United States, except during our years of wealth and plenty, our resources, our future and our very solvency were squandered. Rather than storehouses to prepare ourselves for a day of reckoning, legislators of both parties, and at every level of government, watched as entitlements expanded and refused to enact taxes to pay from them. President Bush the Second embarked on two wars, massive increases in Medicare drug coverage and financed the programs by creating debt. The Republican dogma continued to advance the notion that the cure for any ill was to cut taxes and that any option to raise revenue to meet the demands of the public was evil and socialistic.

Sooner or later the bubble would burst, the situation was not sustainable.

Perhaps we need a Joseph. It is Barack Obama's misfortune to be the President who is there when things have been recognized to be impossible to continue. It is his misfortune to be the President who has to awaken the American people and force the citizens of this country that the years of plenty have ended and tough measures need to be faced and actions taken.

Political posturing by the GOP, full of talking points and bumper sticker position papers but shy of concrete and practical suggestions, are not enough. Concerns about the President's birthplace, his religion, his alleged pursuit of fascism (Hitler) of communism (ala Mao) are counter-productive. Adoption of the unrealistic notions of the far Right and the most extreme of the Tea Party enthusiasts, the blathering of Rush and Glenn and their ilk will not provide solace. Pretending that the Government is, by its very nature, evil and destined to harm us will not correct the problems facing us.

Nope, it's up to Mr. Obama. And he has a tough role to play. Unless he devotes himself to explaining the realities to the American public, as well as to his fellow Democrats, in a comprehensive and cohesive manner, he will be diverted and hindered by an obstructionist GOP presence, one that hates him as they hated Bill Clinton and who, in their opinion, has usurped the office.

The latest plan to enact comprehensive health care reform is the "reconciliation" process wherein each legislator has one vote and the majority wins. Wow, that doesn't sound that radical; in fact that's what the people for last election. In fact, the reconciliation process was extensively used by the GOP in approving two Gulf wars, a massive unfunded Medicare drug expansion and several huge tax cuts, all of which has put us in the hole today. So, let's stop the hysteria about reconciliation meaning the death of the Senate or that majority rule by elected officials is the doom of the nation.

Barack Obama and the Democrats won the election last time around. During the lean years to come, all of us have to pitch in and wish him and them well, because if Barack Obama fails, so do we all.