Obama is the Master of the Big But

Everywhere you turn, there's a big "BUT."

"I don't want to run a car company, BUT ..."

"I don't want to tell banks how to run their business, BUT ..."

"I don't want the federal government running health care, BUT ..."

And today:

"We don't want to stifle innovation. But I'm convinced that by setting out clear rules of the road and ensuring transparency and fair dealings, we will actually promote a more vibrant market."

The speaker in each case is President Barack Hussein Obama. The result in each case is expanded government power and control. Now he is pushing for "regulatory reform" for banks, insurance companies, credit card issuers, and a massive infusion of power to the Federal Reserve which, as we and others have noted before, is neither federal nor does it have a reserve of anything other than chutzpah.

You can be damn sure that these changes will stifle innovation.

And of course Tiny Tim, the Tax Chief in Charge of Treasury, is cheerleading for his boss.

A new Rule of Thumb for gauging the effect of an Obama proposal: If he prefaces his remarks with, "I don't want to ..." whatever follows will be the exact opposite.

If he says, "I don't want to eat your wife's sugar cookies ..." go hide the cookie jar.

If he says, "I don't want fraud, waste and corruption in government," count how many inspectors general he fires in the next 30 days.

And if he says, "I don't want to endanger the retirement savings of Americans," don't be too surprised when it gets rolled into the non-existent Social Security trust fund sometime in the near future.

An older Rule of Thumb which I find useful: If there is a proposal before Congress that has the enthusiastic endorsement of Barney Frank, it is poison. This includes regulatory reform:

"We regard this as very pro-market," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who chairs the House Financial Services Committee. "Unless you have investors that are well-protected, you don't have a market."

Newsflash for Mr. Frank: If government controls everything, including risk, you don't have a market.

He knows this, of course. He just doesn't give a damn.

It is not reform that any of these clowns want. They are expanding their playground, where they test all their socialist theories of redistribution of wealth and where they, not merit or market reality, get to pick the winners and losers.