All hat and no cattle

There is a Texas saying about someone being “All hat and no cattle” – a big talker but that’s all. Despite my hopes and support for President Obama, I’m beginning to worry that this administration is “All hat and no cattle”, or perhaps “All speech and no spine”.

Despite his wonderful campaign promises to make the legislative process more open and transparent, and to post all bills online for five days before they are voted on, he did absolutely nothing when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid shoved through the stimulus bill, giving even members of Congress only 12 hours to review the final bill before the vote, let alone publish it online for five days beforehand.

Despite his repeated, earnest and eloquent campaign promises to end earmarks, when presented with a bill loaded with earmarks (including at least one of his own), he couldn’t find it in himself to veto it and tell Congress to send it back without the earmarks.

Despite his eloquent promise that not a penny of bailout money would go to bonuses for Wall Street executives, when AIG, recipient of over $170 billion in bailout money, gives out $164 million in bonuses to the same incompetents who got the company into trouble in the first place, the best he can do is a lame excuse that “there is nothing the government can do about it”.

I’m beginning to fear that this president and this administration is “All hat and no cattle”.