Since this was a year of enough rocking and rolling in the news to make your head spin, one way to interpret many of 2009’s headliners and highlights is to link them to song titles from Rolling Stones’ albums.
Stray Cat Blues: Tiger Woods.
Driving Too Fast: President Obama.
I Go Wild: Vice President Biden.
Let It Loose: Sarah Palin.
Out Of Control: Government spending, debt and deficits.
Start Me Up: Employment.
Mercy Mercy: Seeking economic recovery.
Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’: Tea parties, town halls and talk radio.
Beast Of Burden: The American taxpayer.
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction: The country’s small businesses.
Gimme Shelter: Is money safe anywhere?
Slipping Away: The free market in America.
Biggest Mistake: Government-run health care.
Poison Ivy: Cap-and-trade (aka cap and tax).
Winning Ugly: The Democrats’ strategy.
19th Nervous Breakdown: How is Obama’s “change” working for you now?
All Sold Out: Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska sold their votes to pass the Senate health care bill in exchange for special government Medicaid funding for their states—$300-million for hers and $100-million for his.
Look What The Cat Dragged In: The government’s unsupportable claim that the stimulus “saved or created” 640,000 jobs.
Love In Vain: Those who voted for Obama and now have “buyers’ remorse.”
Rough Justice: A trial in New York will treat the alleged 9/11 mastermind and four other accused terrorists like civilians rather than war criminals.
Sparks Will Fly: Transferring terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay to Illinois.
Oh No, Not You Again: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
I’m Going Down: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
I’m A King Bee: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Tumbling Dice: Betting the economy on an administration with scarce real-world business experience.
Back of My Hand: What Congressional Democrats gave to Republicans.
Little By Little: Big Government takeovers of the economy and our lives.
Get Off Of My Cloud: Pie-in-the sky climate change legislation.
Now I Got A Witness: The “Climate-gate” e-mails.
Time Is On My Side: The gamble by Obama and Democrats in Congress.
Look What You’ve Done: White House party “gate-crashers.”
Shattered: Obama’s promises of bipartisanship, clean government ethics, and greatly diminished influence by lobbyists and special interests.
Shine A Light: Obama fails to deliver “transparency” in government.
Undercover Of The Night: How Congress sneaks through earmarks.
Terrifying: Multi-billion dollar bills that pass unread in Congress.
Don’t Lie To Me: Congressman Joe Wilson to President Obama.
Star Star: Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Play With Fire: The war in Afghanistan.
Harlem Shuffle: The seek-and-hide tax dodging of Congressman Charlie Rangel.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want: On a few key occasions Obama disappoints his left-wing base.
Let It Bleed: Obama’s response to Iran street protesters.
Paint It Black: The storm over the arrest of black Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. by white Police Officer Sergeant James Crowley.
Who’s Been Sleeping Here: The Service Employees International Union at the White House.
Sad Sad Sad: The ACORN Scandal.
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg: AIG, General Motors and Chrysler.
I’m Moving On: Former White House adviser Van Jones and Communications Director Anita Dunn resign amid charges about their radical views.
Each And Every Day Of The Year: Mainstream Media bias.
Long Long While: It’s time for a “statute of limitations” on Obama blaming everything on George W. Bush.
Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind: Obama bowing to the Saudi king and the Japanese emperor.
Saint Of Me: Obama’s self regard.
Salt of the Earth: Americans who work hard, pay taxes, obey the law—and get shafted.
We’re Wastin’ Time: With political correctness.
I’m Free: This traditional American view is under assault.
Dead Flowers: All that’s left after Obama appeases hostile nations.
Criss Cross Man: Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter.
As Tears Go By: This year’s deaths include Ted Kennedy, Patrick Swayze, Walter Cronkite and Robert Novak.
Miss You: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
Good Times, Bad Times: 2009.
Flip The Switch: Vote in 2010.
What To Do: Return power to the people.
Communications consultant Jon Kraushar is at www.jonkraushar.net.
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