If there was one old saying that could describe the presidency of the United States, it would be “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
This phrase applies to former and future presidents, as well as President Barack Obama, whenever a stance is made on an issue.
Nobody is happy with the job the president does. This isn’t just based on whether or not people agree with the president’s decisions – their party’s ideology also plays a huge role.
The Republicans will deny any issue President Obama brings to the floor just as the Democrats opposed anything that came out of President George W. Bush’s mouth.
That’s textbook partisanship, folks.
And partisanship is one of the most noticeable, detrimental and juvenile things in Congress. It delays important issues and rejects others, plaguing the success of America and its people.
When President Obama took office in 2008, he asked the Republicans in Congress to work together with him, and they more or less denied him.
Four years later, both parties are pitted against each other at rallies and in advertisements.
But how bad is it in comparison to the rest of American history?
California Gov. Jerry Brown said in an interview that “this country is more divided now than at any time since the Civil War,” according to a CNN blog.
He might be right, and America is on to this. The connection between Congress’ partisan divide and their dismal approval rating of 10 percent – the lowest in 38 years, reports the Huffington Post – is too clear to ignore.
When you draw a line right down the middle, it’s not the Republicans who lose on healthcare reform or the Democrats who can’t have their social program funding — it’s the people who live in America.
The decisions they make against each other affect us, whether the consequences they overlook are good or bad for their constituency.
Maybe Gov. Romney’s economic plan could work, or maybe President Obama has the right idea with the Affordable Care Act. But as long as there is a divide in Congress based on partisan and party rhetoric, nothing is going to change.
Bragg, a junior journalism and public relations major from Lillington, is a senior Arts and Entertainment reporter.