BY JOHN H. WALKER
L’Observateur

If you’ve gotten behind the wheel of a motor vehicle in the past six weeks or so, I’d be willing to bet you’ve seen at least one set of blue lights flashing every two or three days.

The state police seem to be the most aggressive. There was one day I drove up to Manchac to take a picture of the southbound Amtrak coming across the drawbridge and saw two troopers parked at foot of southbound Exit 1 on US 51.

As someone who makes that drive with a bit of regularity, I can tell you it’s hard to slow down to 40 — which is posted at the exit entrance — when you’ve been doing at least 75 to keep from being run over! And that’s why they are there … almost like the bears in the river as the salmon spawn.

That same day there was a St. John deputy about a mile past Peavine Road and, about three miles south of Gator’s, there was another state trooper with another vehicle pulled over.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’ll drive US 51 instead of what I call “the high road” just so I can roll my windows down and drive a more leisurely speed than the 80 or better that is commonplace at the higher elevation.

Aggressive driving is a pain. There’s a red Jeep Cherokee with a busted windshield — looks like a baseball landed squarely in front of the driver’s face — that usually hits US 51 at about 75 mph shortly after 5 p.m. How can he see where he’s going?

And there was a little guy in a big, white Toyota Tundra that was going to bully his way through the Wal-Mart parking lot the other day. After running a stop stop and causing me to hit my brakes, he gives me the middle-finger salute! When I pulled up next to him and tried to ask him why he did that, he started to scream at me about being rude by not letting him in.

Heck, he didn’t ask. He just kept rolling when all he had to do was wait for me to pass, since there was no one behind me!

I guess his theory was that since he had the biggest, baddest truck around, he could play schoolyard bully.

The bad thing about playing bully these days is that you never know how anyone is going to react. This guy had such a case of SMS that I could just imagine if the roles were reversed, he’d pull out a gun and start blazing away. Heck, he went into full-blown rage and no one did anything to him!

Bet he’s fun at the supper table!

As I read newspaper from around the country, I think it is interesting that the tone of editorial cartoons are changing. While there are still those who portray President Obama as the annointed one who can do no wrong, there are more and more who are starting to question his (lack of?) judgement and the direction our country is being taken as we bail out everyone except those who are out of work.

Of course, maybe those cartoonists are paying attention to the president’s plummeting polls and hearing from the readers who saw it’s time to reconnect with America. You know, rather than going all a’twitter over Mr. O, opting to change the way they represent things.

After all, poll numbers released Thursday show the president’s approval rating down to 52 percent, while the disapproval rating is up to 42 percent.

The healthcare plan battle must be making the president sick. Lucky for him, he’s under 59 and still qualifies for a surgical procedure instead of a living will counseling session.

Now, that’s enough to make a healthy person sick!

(John H. Walker is editor and publisher of L’Observateur and may be reached at (985) 652-9545 or john.walker@wickcommunications.com)