Stan Geiger

What's New in the World?

News reports say Barack Obama---vaunted advocate for traveling a new road---promises another "stimulus package" if elected. He puts the price tag at $50 billion.

A politician is promising people money in exchange for votes. Yeah, that's new.

The vilified President Bush has passed out checks. Now the man that promises change, and condemns his opponent on grounds that his election would be 4 more years of Bush policy, wants to do what the current president has done---twice.

You can go back even further in history. Roman emperors used to pass out gifts from the public coffers with regularity. It was circuses and grain for the masses; it was cash for the Praetorian Guard and the rest of the army.

Roman emperors, of course, didn't have to worry about elections. But they did have to worry about public sentiment. If they got unpopular, they got dead.

Got any more "fresh new ideas" there, Mr. Change?

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