Clutch Control, Tire Smoke, Obama, and the Congress

Launching a very powerful motorcycle from a standing start requires a good deal of experience at clutch control. To non-riders, it may seem like throttle control is the most important thing, but it is not. Often, a motorcycle is launched hard with the throttle held steady. The delicate balancing act bewteen bogging the engine, smoking the tire, or wheelying over is controlled by an experienced hand on the clutch. Lacking that, traction control, as has appeared on modern bikes, is a life saver.

So what has this got to do with Obama and the congress?

Picture Obama as a neophyte motorcycle racer. There he is, motor revved up, ready to launch. The light turns green, he whacks the throttle open and dumps the clutch, as neophytes are wont to do. What happens? Tire smoke, and very little forward momentum.

NKeep that image in your head, except now he is President and the economy is tanking. He has the full power and authority of his Office behind him to get it moving. What has he done? He's whacked the throttle (Treasury department) open and dumped the clutch (Stimulus bill). And what is the result? A whole lot of smoke, a whole lot of fuel (money) being burned, with very little movement to show for it.

Remember I mentioned traction control at the end of the first paragraph? That's the "device" the US Congress has at its disposal to help the situaton. Problem is, they are either reticent to use it, or are knowingly complicit in keeping it turned off.

So we go nowhere, burning fuel, making a hell of a lot of noise, and immersed in smoke.