I know you're an absolutist on this earmark thing, but honestly–prioritize, man! Give Obama a chance to use his mojo to keep earmarks out of the legislation that he actually has something to do with. If he makes no effort to do that, we can talk. Until then, it's just irrational to throw him on the slag heap over this.

I want a prez whose words mean something. Right now, his mean nothing. When I see him on TV now, I hear the teacher from the Peanuts cartoons – whlaa whlaaa, whlaa whlaaa. Same as W, except W couldn't even spell that right.

It's ironic, but the last one who kept his word was Jimmy Carter, and he was a failure. But he was honest and his words meant something. I think I'll take that….

And while I don't share your knee-jerk aversion to every project that's being funded this way — nor do I think Obama should waste his time opening the bill back up to itemize the pork — I do wish that he had expressed his distaste for the earmark process rather than trying to sweep the whole issue under the rug as “old news.” (Apparently he's holding a meeting of some sort on “fiscal accoutability” or some such thing tomorrow, as a way of placating you and Angry-Pants McCain.)

The charitable-donations bit will die quickly, and Obama will label it “compromise.” See how that works?

You can say this bill/bailout is temporary, but tell me anything in government that's temporary? Once these programs are created (like tatoo removal), they will keep asking for the money teet. It takes an act of God to stop a government funding program. It's like taking a wild animal, putting it in a zoo & feeding it etc. You can't put it back in the wild, it'll die. Where will folks get their tatoos removed if we stop funding it with my money? How will GM surivive w/out the gov teet once they keep sucking off of it?

And lastly, the worst thing about this bill is what it will do to charitable donations, which is just deplorable and frankly disgusting. Even far lefty talking heads on TV have criticized that part of it, but since the Messiah likes it, he'll still sign it, charities and his no-earmark promise be damned.