The sadly obligatory State of the Union checklist post

When “Obama the populist” is unveiled tonight as he touts his administration’s success in curbing the influence of “special interests” in Washington politics, please bear in mind this track record over the past calendar year:

1. Big Pharma has spent $150 million in advertising in support of Obamacare after a White House deal was cut behind closed doors.

2. The President personally oversaw and negotiated the gift to the unions that would exempt them from paying the 40% excise tax on their “Cadillac” health plans.

3. The President raised no objections to the Louisiana Purchase, the Cornhusker kickback and the myriad of other closed-door deals that were cut in order to pass healthcare legislation.

4. The President has packed his economic advisory team with the very Wall St. insiders he now derides as “fat cats”.

5. The President oversaw the takeover of 2 auto manufacturers (GM and Chrysler) which included bankruptcy proceedings that shafted secured creditors in favor of the labor unions.

6. The President signed a $787 stimulus bill which has not had the promised effect on unemployment and has, in fact, been merely political payoff to favored constituents.

7. There does not appear to be any plans to halt, suspend, delay or otherwise put a bullet in the head of TARP that has propped up Wall St., the President’s latest villain or any other element of Bailout Nation.

8. The excise tax that will be exacted on the nation’s largest banks (many of whom have repaid the TARP money with interest or received no TARP money at all) will be done so to the exclusion of other bailout beneficiaries such as aforementioned union-dominated auto manufacturers and mortgage-crisis black holes, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This is by no means a comprehensive list - it was cut short for the sake of brevity and so as to not embarrass the President on his big night.

So, while “Obama the populist” makes his inaugural appearance please keep in mind the above which have been the deeds not the words of someone who campaigned on the themes of “changing the way Washington does business” and who is claiming his administration’s success against “special interests”.