"Celebrate???"

Remember Rex Grossman, he was the quarterback who led the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006? Rex is now a back-up, I think in Washington. Rex's claim to fame was that '06 Super Bowl, since then, not much interest has been exhibited toward "Sexy Rexy". As a fan of the Bears, I had hope for a victory in '06, but the reality of Peyton Manning took that dream away. The Colts were the best team on that Sunday, and the weakness of Rex was obvious to all of us who love the Bears. Rex was personable enough; he had a boyish charm at the press conferences, and he was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Young girls all liked "Sexy Rexy"; his face was on posters and in commercials. For a while, he was being compared to Bret Favre, later he was compared to someone who needed a guide dog. He had some last minute heroics to win some games that were interspersed with costly interceptions that were an early warning of what was to come from the hands of "Sexy Rexy". In the beginning of the season, sports writers were in love with Grossman; touting him as the savior at quarterback that Chicago hadn't had since Jim McMahon in 1985. I remember a writer saying "Grossman can make things happen on the field"; little did he know some of the things Rex made happen would lead to disasters on the gridiron of monumental proportions. Rex was a "flash in the pan" for part of one season. Rex couldn't produce and fan pressure ran him out of town. Not too much to celebrate in Chicago about Rex Grossman, other than his leaving. Sadly, there were no "Super Bowl" parades in Chicago in 2006; there wasn't a reason to cheer!

It has been two weeks since the mid-terms and a new Congress will be taking office in January. This has been an unusual Congressional season. Barack Obama has had the most partisan Congress I can remember in many years. Mr. Obama, with the help of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, has been able to push legislation without the need of non-partisan support or approval. Health-care was shoved through Congress strictly down party lines with the help of some costly earmarks to sweeten the pot for some votes. The scenes of thousands of Americans standing outside the Capitol Building in protest of the legislation went unnoticed by Ms. Pelosi as she walked out of the House with her "huge gavel" held in her hand, as a symbol of her partisan victory. It seems that the American people perceived this legislation more of a failure than a victory for the current Congress; even though it was hailed by the White House as a great triumph. Approval ratings have been falling at record rates for months on end, yet the Congress continued to move forward on an agenda that most Americans didn't want. The result of this disregard of the will of the people was an election drubbing of immense proportion. Not much to celebrate for the Democrats after this election! Oddly, Nancy Pelosi had a party to celebrate the "accomplishments" that were made by these out-going legislators. This Congress is leaving with an approval rating of around 20%; even Rex Grossman had a higher approval rating than that!

Rather than having a party, Ms. Pelosi should be holding a wake and a bereavement dinner for the passing of this Congress; it seems much more fitting. I'm afraid there won't be any parades for this Congress; but a "funeral procession" might be in order! REST IN PEACE!!