Where does the Buck Stop?
“The Buck Stops Here”. President Harry Truman kept that sign on his desk in the White House Oval Office. A plain-speaking man from Missouri, Harry knew that whatever happened to the country during his presidency was his responsibility. He was keenly aware that the President must make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions. That obligation means that a leader does not try pass it off to someone else.
Fast forward to the current regime in the White House. Joe Biden has demonstrated beyond a doubt that he is a world class buck passer when it comes to domestic and foreign policy. According to him, the current economic malaise in the Nation is not his fault, nor are the screwball progressive policies that he and his inner circle have foisted on the country over the last 14 months. High gas prices and inflation are all Vladimir Putin’s fault. The heinous cruel invasion of the Ukrainian Republic by Russia has made America’s economy suffer? Come on, man!
Joe needs to be “fact checked”. He said in a speech to Democrats in Philadelphia last week the following, "Make no mistake, inflation is largely the fault of Putin." Apparently, Biden is unaware that inflation has been soaring above 5% since last May. Would someone please explain to him how Putin's February invasion of Ukraine caused inflation to spike last May. Anyone?
Then the mystery of high gas prices was revealed by the geniuses running the country. Gasoline is up because the United States will no longer buy Russian oil. Putin’s fault again Joe read from the teleprompter on Monday. What a bunch of malarky. The sad fact is that this narrative is being pushed by his friends in the media who have no shame in propping up his incompetence.
What was Joe doing to bring gas prices down before the Ukrainian invasion by Russia? Not much except telling folks they needed to by an electric car. How does that help food prices go down? Who is going to let him know that grocery stores get their supplies via diesel trucks? Diesel fuel is over $5.00 a gallon compared with $3.00 a gallon six months ago, almost a 50% increase. No wonder food prices are increasing.
It all goes back to the executive orders that Biden signed his first day in office that strangled the fossil fuel industry. Spurred on by the “Green Save the Planet” loons, Joe acquiesced to their agenda and the Nation’s growing oil and gas industry retreated. Evidently these ninnies think that its ok to drill in the Saudi desert or the Venezuelan jungle and the planet will be just fine. Never mind that these countries don’t have the same environmental standards found in the American oil industry prior to Biden. Fat chance that this will ever be reported by the corporate media.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said it best. “It makes no sense at all for us to import energy from hostile actors when we're blessed with abundant supply of natural resources here at home. We must immediately increase our oil and gas production - and that means both the Administration and industry must step up to the plate.” At least we have one Joe in the country who knows what the deuce is going on.
To aid in the “pass the buck” strategy, the White House brain trust decided to use “Tik-Tok Influencers” to explain to their followers why gas prices and inflation are high. They picked teenage energy expert Ellie Zeiler, an 18-year-old Tik-Tocker, known for uploading short lip-sync videos to enlighten her fans. Not kidding. You have got to be living on Mars to believe she’s a credible source when it comes an explanation of high gas prices. Bottom line it’s Putin’s fault. Thanks Ellie. This is as good as it gets for this crew. Even the White House propaganda minister Psaki gleefully stated that oil prices had declined over the last couple of days. Savvy Wall Street financial analysts attribute this decline as an indication the that the United States could be sliding into a recession. The Wall Street wise guys are rarely wrong.
Here's the latest classic example of Biden’s buck passing. "Let's be absolutely clear about why prices are high now. They're high for two reasons. One was Covid. The way the global economy works. And now, the second big reason for inflation is Vladimir Putin - and gas prices. Not a joke. We've seen the price of gas go up over a dollar just since he put his troops on the border - on the border of Ukraine. It went up a dollar and five cents." Not one clear thinking economist believes this baloney.
Harry Truman received the sign, “The Buck Stops Here”, as a gift from a prison warden who was also an avid poker player like the President. Harry knew poker. Biden is the guy sitting at the table flashing his cards. Everyone knows what’s in his hand. Joe doesn’t know how to hold’em or when to fold’em in the world poker game.
That’s scary.