Dr. J. was reflecting on the approach that President Obama’s been taking with the public in his second term rather than his first term.

During the first term, and on some issues in the second term, he reminds Dr. J. of the Lil Medstudent.

(rummage, rummage) Those are the Goldfish™ I am looking for…

When the Lil Medstudent wants a snack, for us to change the channel, etc…he will wear us out. He will ask over and over again until we either cave or say no sufficiently audibly, that we can be heard in the next county. Alternatively he will go into the pantry and take it under his own power when we aren’t looking and as an alternative to asking permission.

Think about how he tackled Obamacare, taxes and the environment during his first term. A combination asking over and over and over again when he should have been cleaning his room (Obamacare) and executive orders (the environment, after being told no by Congress).

Four years go by and he has matured to the level of the Lil Resident. She is the master of the ‘bait and switch.’ She’ll go shopping with Mrs. Dr. J. and see three pairs of shoes she loves and will ‘negotiate her way’ to a two pairs of shoes when Mrs. Dr. J. was planning on buying only a single pair for her. She did the same thing last night at dinner. We were at pasta night at New Atlantis Country Club and the pasta bar comes with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. As ice cream isn’t a right in Clan J’s household, Lil Resident asked, “I am not going to make a sundae with all the fixin’s, may I have a scoop of ice cream?” Admiring her pluck, and the fact that she hasn’t had dessert in quite some time, we acquiesced.

If I were the Emperor, I’d want a four-scoop banana split sundae with hot fudge, caramel and extra whipped cream. Instead, as you are my parent, who is deciding, a scoop of vanilla is a fair and balanced approach to dessert!

That is the method Obama is taking with his budget. Last week Jay Carney described Obama’s approach to his budget as balanced because it’s not what he’d do if he were king. Similarly he’s doing the same thing with gun-control where because he probably, in his heart, wishes that there were no private gun ownership whatsover, and Feinstein is proposing all sorts of crazy Federal restrictions, he’ll settle for whatever privacy rights we’re willing to surrender to keep our second amendment rights.

In other words, he’s acting less like a 7 year old boy and more like an 11 year old girl.

Dr. J.