SBY -- Self-Indulgent, Arrogant, and Out-Of-Touch...

If the title of this post does not get you in, then I have determined that it is time to start dealing exclusively in smut and gossip.

I have been trying to think of some good things that SBY has done that I can write about. You know, trying to infuse a little bit of positiveness in amongst all the negativity and the doom and gloom. Indonesia is a great country in desperate need of a great leader. A leader who can truly lead her out of the shadows that still linger. So, while I look for this positivity about SBY, I may as well get in one last lambasting of a truly ineffectual and out-of-touch leader.

Independence Day in any country is one of celebration and reflection. Celebrating that which you have gained while simultaneously reflecting on, and remembering, what was sacrificed in order to gain that independence. Yet, for some though, it is the perfect opportunity to be self-indulgent and arrogant while simultaneously showing just how out-of-touch you really are as president.

SBY took the opportunity of a captive audience of dignitaries and other special guests to spruik himself and his family by forcing upon gifts that have next to nothing to do with Indonesian independence: a speech by his son, a book by his wife, and a book of speeches by world leaders including his own.

The Jakarta Globe reported that the presidential spokesman, Julian Aldrin Pasha, said that the government did not pay for the gifts. So what? And, "who cares?" That does not make it right, does it?

So much promise and so little return...if this was an investment, then financial advisers would be telling you to cut your losses and move on.