Obama won; now let’s move on

Nearly a month has passed since the presidential election, and yet there has been a steady stream of sour grapes letters from Republicans either expressing astonishment that Obama won or outright contempt for the man.

A recent letter from Nicholas Marmantje complained that “we” are still referring to “the Bush Tax Cuts” as “the Bush Tax Cuts.” The basis for his complaint? Obama agreed to the extension of tax cuts for another two years; so, he reasons, they should now be called “the Obama Tax Cuts.” Sounds like smoke and mirrors to me. All of the media outlets still refer to them as the “Bush Tax Cuts,” even Fox News, so don’t be surprised by the puzzled look on people’s faces when you call them something else.

It’s also worth remembering that Obama negotiated an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits in exchange for agreeing to an extension of tax cuts for all taxpayers — something that he opposed. Being coerced to do something by an intransigent Congress doesn’t really confer ownership.

As for Mr. Marmantje’s claim that Obama “never takes ownership of or responsibility for anything,” I beg to differ. Obama took full responsibility for saving the auto industry, killing Bin Laden, cutting middle class taxes, ending “Bush’s war in Iraq,” winding down the war in Afghanistan, and ending the bloody reign of Gadhafi in Libya. Not bad for four years in office.

The economy that Obama inherited was near total collapse. Most Americans don’t realize how close we came to bartering for food. To expect Obama to single-handedly conjure up a recovery and reinvent the economy in four years is naive, especially when you consider the unconscionable obstruction from Congress.

Obama won — time to move on to a different topic.

William S. Hicks

Carpentersville