Meet the new boss, same as the old boss ...

Sigh! So much for hope and change:

In calling his second major shot as president-elect, Barack Obama picked pro-abortion Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The former U.S. senator from South Dakota, known for taking no prisoners as Senate Majority Leader, will replace pro-life advocate Mike Leavitt, who has been working on protecting pro-life doctors and nurses. Sigh!

As the health secretary, Daschle will likely play a role in shaping Obama's health care plan, which has come under fire for possibly including abortion coverage or mandating that hospitals or insurance companies cover abortions. Sigh!

Hope? Not for pre-born babies. Change? Yeah, a sad step deeper into, not out of, bitter partisan politics. This isn't reaching across the isle; it's throwing a sucker punch!

To quote the Who from Don't Get Footed Again: "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss." Not at all what voters expected from the messiah's mantra on the campaign trail, huh?

Reminds me of a Fanny Mae lender who died and arrived at the pearly gates, where Saint Peter gave him the choice of heaven or hell after visiting each.

First up was hell, and the lender was stunned to see a gorgeous lush-green golf course, complete with a ritzy clubhouse that offered plenty of booze, massages and an unending poker game. Then came heaven, a serenely beautiful place of peace and tranquility.

When Peter called for the decision the next day, the lender said: "Well, this might surprise you, but I think I'll fit in better in hell."

"So be it," Peter said, pointing to the elevator. Down the lender went to his exciting and attractive destination for eternity.

But when the doors opened, the Fanny Mae lender was greeted by blast-furnace flames and searing pain. As Satan emerged from the fire, the lender cried out, "What happened? Yesterday it was so beautiful..."

"Yesterday," Satan hissed with an evil smile, "we were campaigning. Today you voted!"