Recycled Pledges

This week was laden with hard TV choices.

On Wednesday, I opted to watch my New York Giants stumble in their opener against the hated (at least by me) Dallas Cowboys in lieu of watching Bill Clinton make a case for giving Barack Obama a second term at the Democratic National Convention. Apparently, many in New York at least felt the same way as the Super Bowl champions commanded a larger viewing audience than the former commander-in-chief in the Big Apple.

The next night, which forced the convention to move to a smaller venue due to the threat of heavy rains (the weather at least was bi-partisan as it gave the recent GOP gathering an equal opportunity soaking), I was torn between a movie on Showtime I had missed on two previous occasions or watching the President’s acceptance speech and asking the voters for a second term.

As a lifelong Republican, I surprisingly opted for the latter.

Following an astonishingly gaffe-free introduction by the Vice President, the current occupant of the Oval Office — looking noticeably grayer than four years ago in Denver — laid out his plans for the next term, with an emphasis on moving forward. And true to his pledges for an improved environment, the promises — delivered in strong oratory — were as I expected: recycled. That’s sort of an ironic symmetry.

More jobs, more teachers, and pounding the Romney-Ryan plans on Medicare and of course, taxes, arguing the GOP ticket would cut taxes for upper-income taxpayers while removing tax breaks and benefits for the middle class and low-income workers.

Obama also promised tax reform to make the Tax Code simpler and fairer. Hmm. I think I remember his predecessor and a number of others before that echoing that same promise. So let’s not expect any movement on that for a while. And I mean a while.

Nevertheless I think I had seen this movie somewhere and not on cable.

Noticeably absent in his speech was that it was exactly one year to the day of the Solyndra bankruptcy — you remember, the Fremont, CA-based company that manufactured solar panels and received $527 million in federal stimulus money along with a $25.1 million tax break from California’s Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, all part of his administration’s proposed clean energy initiative. Shortly afterward, Solyndra promptly soaped the windows and padlocked the front door, laying off 1,100 employees in the process and prompting an investigation by the Treasury Department and later by the House Oversight Committee.

And his opponent is being chastised for layoffs?

About 20 minutes through, with my eye lids getting heavier, I turned in.

I didn’t need to hear the end. I’d heard it all before.

I’ve had enough politics for now — admittedly on both sides of the aisle.  In the future, I think I’ll choose Showtime.