Is Washington listening to America?

The White House today used a typical tactic in deflecting the critisism of Robert Santelli, a CNBC personality and member of the Chicago Board of Trade. Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary, whose only jobs in life have been in politics, insinuated that Mr. Santelli was out of touch with the pulse of the American people when he called for a "Chicago Tea Party" to protest the Presidents Stimulus Bill. Saying:

"I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs during a press briefing. "But the American people are struggling every day to meet their mortgage, stay in their job, pay their bills, to send their kids to school, and to hope that they don't get sick or that somebody they care for gets sick and sends them into bankruptcy. I think we left a few months ago the -- the adage that, if it was good for a derivatives trader, that it was good for Main Street. I think the verdict is in on that."

Mr Gibbs also insinuated that the President was smarter then Mr. Santelli, who is college educated and has years of experience in the financial sector by saying:

"now, every day when I come out here, I spend a little time reading, studying on the issues, asking people who are smarter than I am questions about those issues. I would encourage him to read the president's plan and understand that it will help millions of people, many of whom he knows. I'd be more than happy to have him come here and read it."

He ended the tirade by suggesting that Mr. Santelli was simply overwrought, saying:

"I'd be happy to buy him a cup of coffee," Gibbs wryly added, in remarks he seemed to have prepared. "Decaf."

This is how the office of the chief executive of our United States responds to any criticism of their policies. They are dismissive, arrogant and refuse to debate their position. This administration seems to have decided what was best for America without letting us have a say. As if their election was a mandate to run this country by their rules, with no input from the outside. I see this as a very reckless direction to steer our country in. A distant, despotic ruler once tried to bend the citizenry of America to his will. He was George of England, and by the end of it, blood was spilled and history was changed. I hope the man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue took a history class at Harvard because I don't want to see it happen in my lifetime.