Reply #58: Here's a bit of what she said. [View All]

[CBHagman]

This is a portion of her remarks.

"I am a chief financial officer for a veterans service organization, AMVETS, here in Washington. I'm also a mother. I'm a wife. I'm an American veteran. And I'm one of your middle-class Americans. And quite frankly, I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration defending the mantle of change that I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now.

"I have been told that I voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I'm one of those people, and I'm waiting, sir. I'm waiting. I don't feel it yet. And I thought, while it wouldn't be in great measure, I would feel it in some small measure.

"I have two children in private school, and the financial recession has taken an enormous toll on my family. My husband and I have joked for years that we thought we were well beyond the hot-dogs-and-beans era of our lives. But quite frankly, it's starting to knock on our door and ring true that that might be where we're headed again. And quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer this honestly: Is this my new reality?"

As far as I'm concerned, that raises as many questions as it poses. What does she mean by feel? With what specifically is she disappointed? Is she worried about her 401(k)? Does she own a home? Is her husband employed?

To which income bracket do they belong? (Believe me, that matters one hell of a lot, especially in this area of the country...) What kind of private schools are we talking about, relatively modestly priced parochial schools or very exclusive ones?

Is she really going into the hotdog-and-beans era, or is that just hyperbole? It matters, in an area like this, where some people are juggling multiple jobs and living in cramped apartments, and others sigh petulantly when if you won't let them cut in line in front you at the Safeway (I live here and have worked with the public, so I know whereof I speak).

I have to say that her mention of her role as chief financial officer, plus the comment about her daughters going to private school, pushed my skepticism buttons.

And speaking in my role as a schlub with a bus pass and a rented apartment, I have almost limitless contempt for anyone who is pitching a tantrum 18 months into Obama's presidency. The wheels don't turn that fast.