Free Republic

Former President Obama says that while there are some aspects of being commander in chief he misses, he doesn’t pine for the “hoopla” that comes with the job. “There’s nothing that compares to the privilege and the honor of serving the American people in the highest office in the land,” Obama told Al Roker when asked Wednesday how life had changed since he left office in 2017. The 44th president appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to promote his new Netflix series, “Our Great National Parks.”

<p>Judging from the lavish media coverage and the blizzard of self-congratulatory statements from those involved, one might think that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders took huge strides last week toward resolving California's budget crisis.</p> <p>They didn't. The deal on a $15 billion bond issue to refinance part of the state's $25 billion budget debt and a constitutional amendment declaring a balanced budget to be state policy were noteworthy, perhaps -- but they did almost nothing about operating deficits that will approach $20 billion over the next 18 months.</p>