By: Jeffrey Klein
Political Buzz Examiner

Now that President Barack Obama has secured his second, and last, term in office, he seems to have a pathological view of himself and the Democrat party being somehow insulated from the day-to-day anxiety of the much talked about ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ which threatens to explode the level of pain that continues to grip the 15 percent of Americans who remain un-, or under-, employed across the nation–who wonder how much longer it may be until their lives get back to ‘normal.’

However, standing in the way of any sound, sustainable resolution, is the president’s [false] perception of having been given a ‘mandate’ by the 50.8% of Americans who voted for him, to ‘dictate terms’ to Republicans, and fully institutionalize his promise to ‘fundamentally transform’ our country into a European-like, big government, socialistic society.

The pathology of President Obama and the Democrats is manifest in their publicly declaring they will not support any meaningful restructuring or reform of our already ‘bloated’ entitlement programs, particularly Medicare and Medicaid, which even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified as being the ‘driver’ of our growing, trillion dollar plus annual budget deficits and national debt.

In fact, our national debt level of $16.3 Trillion–nearly double what it was just four years ago when Barack Obama was inaugurated–is so precarious, that even a 100 basis point increase in our borrowing [interest] rate (which could easily be caused by another [threatened] ‘debt down-grade’), would send our debt service skyrocketing by 33 percent, and thereby render the United States functionally insolvent.

And, it has claimed more ‘victims.’

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index of manufacturing conditions fell to a reading of 49.5 for November, down from 51.7 in October, the weakest that it has been since July 2009, according to an Associated Press article today.

Any reading above 50 signals expansion, while readings below 50 indicate contraction.

In a note to clients, Jeremy Lawson, an economist at BNP Paribas, wrote:

Today’s report suggests that the manufacturing sector is likely to remain a weak point in the recovery for a few months yet.

In another ISM survey hiring fell to 48.4–the lowest reading since September 2009.

Bradley Holcomb, chairman of the ISM’s survey committee, stated that companies:

Are just backing off, and not making any moves until things clear up a bit.

Although the ‘second estimate’ of U.S. GDP showed the economy grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate in the 3rd (July-September) quarter, which is nearly where the 2nd (April-June) quarter began, before being revised down to just 1.3 percent in the third, and final, estimate.

Now, most economists expect 4th (October-December) quarter growth to also fall below 2 percent–primarily due to [Hurricane] Sandy and the ‘Fiscal Cliff.’

Finally, U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the U.S. economy, fell last month, while their income remained flat–which is also a strong negative signal.

But, no worries for clan Obama, as they are heading to Hawaii for another three week, all [$4 million] expense [taxpayer] paid ‘Christmas’ vacation, to soak up the sun and drink Pina Coladas.