Anger and the Myth of Power

One of the ironies of modern politics is the politicians, who believe they can do so much more than just transfer money from one group to another, are held responsible for broad failures they could not possibly influence by both the people who believe they have these great abilities and the people who do not. So poor Obama, who promises great and vague change in the nation, is held responsible for an economic decline that has been in the making for decades, that no individual is responsible for but is rather the glacial accumulation of bad practices, policies and judgments and that if Obama had dictatorial powers he could not reverse. So, on one hand, he is vilified by the naive supporters who have his great faith in government for his failure to use these presumed powers and, on the other hand, vilified for his failures by his opponents who really do not believe the presidential office has the ability to do very much.