OBAMA ADDRESSES HIS SUBJECTS – AT 8:26 A.M. ET:  We await President Obama's speech to the nation tonight on the oil spill, with the same enthusiasm with which we await Helen Thomas's debut as a Victoria's Secret model.

It is of course a thrill when dear leader addresses us, giving us the benefit of the wisdom he's accumulated in life.  And that's only the first minute.

What to listen for tonight?  Nothing, really.  The president will rail against BP, which certainly deserves a good chunk of the blame, and surely must write some large checks.  He'll weep and wail about the people of the Gulf, whom he probably regards, privately, as a gang of racists.  He'll tell us all he has done, including going down to the Gulf between rock concerts at the White House, and filling up on good Cajun food.

But most of all, the president, reflecting the theme of this administration, will not let this crisis go to waste, and will make "proposals."  Watch those proposals carefully.  They were probably dreamed up in about three minutes.  They will cost plenty, and produce little, but will make various constituencies happy.

This is a failed administration.  However, failed administrations, even after they start losing popularity, can do immense damage.  The Carter administration, which Obama's resembles, left us with huge inflation and a new, hostile Iran.  We can only imagine what gifts we're about to receive from a man who clearly regards himself as above his meager nation.

So watch tonight.  Have potato chips ready.  You'll need the sound of the crunching to drown out the spin.

June 15,  2010