Liberal Ideals v. Pragmatic Reality

My last post on the "mental illness" of liberalism was, obviously, a little tongue in cheek, but the underlying concerns of unrestrained liberalism are very real. As pointed out by the author, there is a certain disconnect between liberal ideals and the need to apply those ideas in the real world.

So - no suprise that we see the article in Reuters today:

US STOCKS-Market falls as Obama fails to deliver details

Now - don't get me wrong - I have a certain respect for Barack Obama, and believe he has somewhat of a fresh view on governing that go beyond partisan attacks to simply acquire power.

That being said, however, while small "c" conservative plans may not be perfect, they are, nonetheless, grounded generally upon concepts such as personal responsibility and fiscal reality.. meanwhile, President Obama, as part of his plan, advises that

We have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and re-finance their mortgages

We will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy

Sounds nice, doesn't it.. what is missing? Why is Wallstreet not suddenly full of optomism? Well, where are the details.. and how could this have been different? How about:

.

We will assure that people who borrowed beyond their needs and their abilities to pay will be left in the mess they created, without asking responsible Americans to pay for their own refusal to delay gratification.

We will not bail out banks and financial institutions who made asinine business decisions, and while the result will be painful, on all of us, it will send a loud message - that greed has a price, and that price will not be repaid by the taxpayer

North of the border, we have similar issues - but, thankfully, we have a Conservative government in power, and the Liberals and NDP are left to bark and complain, again, without substance or pragmatic solution.. theirs is but

a tale. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.