‘Hope’ and ‘change’ a year later

Interesting article by Paul Varnell, ‘Hope’ and ‘change’ a year later. I recommend it, some of what Varnell writes is what others have expressed, such as:

To be sure, it was fairly clear that Obama’s “change” and “hope” would involve substantial, not to say massive, new government spending, higher taxes or greater deficits, and more government control of the economy. I hardly favored these things, but the trade-offs for a change from Bush seemed tolerable. After all, Bush was a big spender too — of money and of blood.

But as it has turned out, there has been less “change” than one might have had “hope” for.

Expensive government health-care expansion has taken center stage. As U.S. military forces are slowly — all too slowly — being withdrawn from Iraq they are being increased in Afghanistan, an even greater quagmire than Iraq has been.
There has been little sign of progress — not even preliminary study groups — on gay issues.

The economy was pulled along in the most expensive way possible, and sent signals to corporations in the future that the government will protect them from the results of foolish policies and economic failure.

Nothing much I had “hope” for.