I’ve always loved horses, and in recent years, horse racing. I’m not a gambler by any means. In fact, I hate wagering my husband’s hard-earned money on anything, whether it’s the lottery, a penny slot machine, poker, or the ponies.
Despite my gambling aversion, my husband and I have been eagerly joining our good friend and horse-racing aficionado John at the races at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar for the last two years. I’m bravely wagering $2 on each race, hoping I won’t lose more than $2 for an entire afternoon of entertainment.
Along the way, I’ve discovered the new love of my life. Her name is Zenyatta. She’s big, and she’s smart. She entertains the crowd with a prancing routine rivaling anything you’ll see on Dancing With the Stars,. She lays back early but surges from the back of the pack to overpower anyone in her way. She’s won all of her 18 races.
Also, she happens to be black.
Zenyatta is a metaphor for what I had hoped a President Obama might be. Zenyatta has never let me down. Alas, Obama has disappointed not only me, but countless of his supporters, including many political neophytes who worked their butts off to bring about REAL hope and change. The younger generation’s disappointment with Obama’s lack of meaningful reform could result in them never voting again.
Even worse for the future of our country and the possibility of having any productive discourse on solutions to real problems is Obama’s lack of backbone, which has allowed a dingbat like Sarah Palin to spew nonsense like “How’s that Hopey Changey thing workin’ for ya?”
If Obama wasn’t going to come out of the gate and take charge of the race from the beginning, why isn’t he using those long legs to take down Mitch McConnell and John Boehner now that they have demonstrated that their only goal is obstructionism? Does he not understand that the GOP wants nothing more than to lay blame on him for eight years of Bush/Cheney idiocy? And to ensure that he won’t have a second term?
Is Obama really more naive than a classy racehorse???
You are right -- Obama needs to toughen up and take on the opposition in a more aggressive way.
ReplyDeleteI read an opinion piece the other day in which the author opined that Obama faces the problem of having to avoid looking like "An Angry Black Man." He asserted that many people fear angry black men and would be put off by that demeaner. Ironic, but here we are saying just the opposite to our President. Dammit -- get angry and tough with goobers like McConnell and Boehner! Show them and everybody else that you're determined to effect the change we elected you to make -- push forward with our objectives -- yell louder than the right-wing noise machine! Toughen up, dude!
You know I don't share your aversion to gambling. However, last election, I didn't get to put my money on the horse I favored. Lots of people in our party thought they knew better than I did about who would best represent our interests in the White House. They picked our horse in the race and even though he won, the pay-off isn't what anybody hoped it would be. All this does not mean that I don't support President Obama and his agenda, because I absolutely do. I just want him to man-up a little and fight for what we want. If he doesn't, I'm ready to elect an Angry Old White Woman named Hillary Clinton in 2012!
Well, remember that Zenyatta's winning style is to run behind the pack and then pour on the speed as needed for the win.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, Barack Obama is indeed following Zenyatta's winning strategy. Give the man some time.
Zenyatta is a wonderful horse :) I'm so jealous of the great tracks near you. My political views are kinda screwy so I try not to go there online.
ReplyDeleteJill - your frontier friend :)