Do you smell what Barack is cookin'?

I do.  And it stinks like a cheezy, velour sweatsuit-clad, used-car dealer's "Bait-and-Switch" advertisement.

In his speech as our nation's 44th President, Barack Obama pledged that it was a new day, that we will all "work together in a bi-partisan spirit" and, who could forget, that "for those who didn't vote for me...I will be your President, too."

A mere 24 hours later, Obama appointed the most Liberal Congressman and vicious partisan political attack dog, Rohm Emanuel, as his Chief of Staff.  Then, as his first order of business, Obama pledged to use the power of his pen to "overturn" limitations on stem cell research and to turn back the clock on the little advances the Bush Administration had made on offshore drilling.

Is it just me, or did America just get the wool pulled over its eyes? Or worse, does the electorate even care? I suppose it IS entirely possible that We the People are more interested these days in catchy slogans and whose White House would have the cooler VIPs pulling up in their Escalades.

The least Obama could have given us was a Honeymoon on the partisanship.  And live up to a speck of the new day he had promised.  The Street will be monitoring Obama's pledges in the weeks leading up to his Inauguration. We wonder if the American electorate will pull themselves away from their lattes and Facebook accounts long enough to do the same...