There is nothing extraordinary about President Obama’s announcement that “undocumented workers”( a/k/a illegal aliens) will be able to buy their way into a minimum two- year extended stay in the U.S., after which time their status will need to be renewed. The cost is $465. Even fee waivers will be available under “limited circumstances.”

Bypassing Congress to afford special status to certain individuals isn’t new. However, it’s usually done by Executive pardon by an outgoing President and granted to the rich and influential. To wit: Mark Rich. You remember. He was the fugitive financier and husband of a large contributor to Bill Clinton’s Presidential Library who was convicted of securities fraud then fled the country to evade incarceration. When his wife “petitioned” the Clinton Administration, it resulted in Rich’s pardon by Executive pardon as one of Clinton’s, literally, last acts as President.

The only difference between what the Obama Administration is now doing and the usual route via Presidential pardon in this “pay to play” amnesty, is one of cost. It’s Obama’s latest implementation and variation on redistribution of wealth. It’s redistribution of patronage. Now gaming the system can be accessed by those less rich and less influential. Unless, of course, you dismiss the influence that Latino’s will have via their vote come November 2012.

I saw “The Dark Knight Rises” this past weekend and I was struck by how much the horrific tragedy in Colorado unfortunately obscured and overshadowed the prophetic message of the movie. Gotham was driven to the brink of extinction by political corruption and manipulation of the masses through class warfare and the continual lowering of both the ethical and moral bars.

Sound familiar?

Obama isn’t the first. He’s the inevitable result of our allowing greed, corruption, deceit and indifference to flourish not only in the political arena but in our own lives as well. When each of us lives Gandhi’s message to “be the change you want to see in the world”… only then will we be able to lift ourselves, the culture and the Nation out of the ethical and moral morass we’ve created through self-interest, apathy and our endless desire for more of everything.

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