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about the first year of the Obama administration. Whatever happens in the remainder of his term or whether he is re-elected his first year alone will supply historians and political scientists fodder for books and college courses for years to come. Never in the history of the American presidency has an administration gone from the mountaintop to the valley in so short a period of time.
The reasons for the precipitous decline in public support for this president are legion. I will highlight a few and perhaps you can add to my list. I would begin with Obama himself. An intelligent man, to be sure, but also a man of rather modest achievement when he ran for president. So he was inexperienced and, therefore, untested for the challenges of the presidency. And yet he is a man of supreme self confidence. Because the basis for that self confidence is really unclear it comes across as arrogance. His personal style is professorial, pedantic and often censorious--qualities that are frankly not endearing.
Then there is the campaign that he waged. It was evasive and largely dishonest. With the complicity of a fawning media he was able to avoid the kind of vetting that candidates for president usually undergo. And so his radicalism, which was hinted at by the Rev. Wright and William Ayres disclosures, was never fully aired or explained by the candidate (blame also falls on the McCain campaign's decision to ignore these issues). So when Obama began to staff his administration with far Left radicals there was understandable push back from people.
More importantly Obama campaigned as a centrist precisely so as to not alarm an electorate that remains center-right. But his governance has been firmly palnted in the far left wing of his party where by nature he is more comfortable. In effect the campaign was a bait-and-switch and voters have not appreciated the deception.
However, Obama can be forgiven if he felt that the electorate had given him greater latitude to move left than was actually the case. He did win by a comfortable margin (although not a lanslide by any means) and his coattails were broad enough to give his party substantial majorities in both houses Of Congress. But the signifcance of these victories was badly misread by his administration. As in any election there are many factors at play. In 2008 there was war weariness and Bush fatigue. Those are negative factors, not a positive endorsement of an agenda. There was also a certain antipathy toward the Republican brand which diminished the attractiveness of the standard bearer of that brand--John McCain. The latter was not an especially effective campaigner and, for a significant element of the electorate, Sarah Palin was a drag on the ticket. Again those are negative factors.
The positive factors were Obama's youth, his energy, his charisma, his eloquence and the fact that he was nearly a Washington outsider. And, most important of all, his candidacy was historic because he was the first black candidate from either major party to be nominated for that office. People naturally want to be on the right side of historic events. Notice, however, that all the positive factors of Obama's candidacy were largely personal. Which is not to say that people did not realize that they were voting for a center-left candidate and understood that his policies would reflect that political persuasion. What they were not voting for was a far left candidate.
In effect there was no mandate for Obama to govern from the far left. But I believe that he and his advisors assumed there was. And that caused a disconnect between his administration and the electorate that widened gradually as people learned who this person is and where he intended to lead the country. That disconnect was voiced by the tea parties and the townhalls. But the White House and the Democrats in Congress discounted these protests as being ginned up by the Republican party, conservative talk show hosts and special interests.
The gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey in November should have disabused them of that notion. But it didn't. The administration and the Dems in Congress pushed forward with an unpopular agenda, ignoring those election results. But with the election of Scott Brown last week the obvious could no longer be ignored--or so it would seem.
Bottom line: Obama's first year has been an utter disaster. Whether he can learn its lessons remains to be seen.
I think Obama needs to get "tough" with Congress... he is bending over backwards with the liberals, giving out "benefits" to the few... I rather have a president say to his own party, do as I say, or I am going to veto most of your legislation to get them in line but I suppose its what happens when you have the same political party in the WH/Congress/House... corruption abound.. Obama needs to get tough on his political party, cause they are doing more harm on him and his party than he could ever do...
Guess what, your boy, Obama, is not the boss of Congress. He represents ONE branch of government (and is doing a damn poor job of it too). The rats are jumping ship. The man-child is an emptier suit than any one of them had suspected. You can only rally around a loser for so long.
What confuses me the most is the arrogance that he possesses. I didn't vote for him, but i've been more than surprised at his narcissistic tendencies. I'd have a far better time giving the guy a break if he didn't think he was God's Gift to the World.
I don't like the arrogant guy down the hall at work. I don't like an arrogant President.
I also am bothered by his lack of conviction and fortitude. Every single move he makes is politically calculated. Which is precisely why I have more respect for GWB than I do Obama. Even when I didn't agree with Bush's policies, at least he didn't let the political climate of the day get in the way. The windbags down in Congress could stuff it as far as GWB was concerned. I admired that about him. I cannot say the same about Barack Obama.
I do have to say that the WH staff and Obama were pretty arrogant but its UNDERSTANDABLE... when so many people and news media constantly give "praise" to you for months on end as well as the world... that tends to get into your head... now that he has been exposed as weaker than a "regular" president, he is trying to fix things... unfortunately, his biggest hurdle is his own party... if a President told Congress he wanted Bill "A" to be passed or prepare to have a very unhappy president that will veto every "pet" bill that comes to his office, the Congress would straighten up and deliver... instead Congress litterally ran over Obama... Obama's lack of a backbone to get things done has caused him the greatest harm... he doesn't realize HE holds the power, not Congress... instead of being the whipping post, he should be the one doing the whipping in congress and he has failed to do so... you WANT a deficit committee, you darn better MANDATE it to congress, NOT ask them it... unless it was just for PR and rhetoric (which it may be)... GWB had more of a backbone... even when Congress hated the war, they funded it with threats from the presidency... that's how things get done in Washington, Mr. Obama... you use the power that was given to you and not let your own political party roll you over... its time for HARDBALL...
Bottom line: Obama's first year has been an utter disaster. Whether he can learn its lessons remains to be seen.
The Progressives have severely underestimated the mindset of Americans. President Obama was put in his position by shear propaganda. Their time in power is limited. Sure, they'll try to push their agenda forward by any means in the short time that they have power. This by no means will be a "Woodrow Wilson" regime.
Yep. It's gonna take time for us to correct this mess, but we will return our administration to a Constitutional Republic to what the founders intended.
I do have to say that the WH staff and Obama were pretty arrogant but its UNDERSTANDABLE... when so many people and news media constantly give "praise" to you for months on end as well as the world... that tends to get into your head... now that he has been exposed as weaker than a "regular" president, he is trying to fix things... unfortunately, his biggest hurdle is his own party... if a President told Congress he wanted Bill "A" to be passed or prepare to have a very unhappy president that will veto every "pet" bill that comes to his office, the Congress would straighten up and deliver... instead Congress litterally ran over Obama... Obama's lack of a backbone to get things done has caused him the greatest harm... he doesn't realize HE holds the power, not Congress... instead of being the whipping post, he should be the one doing the whipping in congress and he has failed to do so... you WANT a deficit committee, you darn better MANDATE it to congress, NOT ask them it... unless it was just for PR and rhetoric (which it may be)... GWB had more of a backbone... even when Congress hated the war, they funded it with threats from the presidency... that's how things get done in Washington, Mr. Obama... you use the power that was given to you and not let your own political party roll you over... its time for HARDBALL...
Ummmm....
....you need a lesson on separation of powers and limited government. The U.S.A. is not a dictatorship.
I think Obama needs to get "tough" with Congress... he is bending over backwards with the liberals, giving out "benefits" to the few... I rather have a president say to his own party, do as I say, or I am going to veto most of your legislation to get them in line but I suppose its what happens when you have the same political party in the WH/Congress/House... corruption abound.. Obama needs to get tough on his political party, cause they are doing more harm on him and his party than he could ever do...
You have hit upon part of Obama's problem: the fact that the Dems control both the White House and Congress. I think that is a very difficult dynamic to manage. Even as the WH has its agenda so, too, does Congress. It is easier to say 'no' to Congress when it is controlled by the other party. Bush had the same problem between 2001 and 2007. The result was overspendiing. But I think Obama has made the same-party dynamic more difficult to manage by his governing style and a deliberate political calculation.
Obama is a consensus kind of guy. He is not an executive by nature. He is comfortable governing by committee and what is Congress but a large committee? So delegating much of his agenda to Congress to craft was what he was comfortable with. Unfortunately for him the people in charge of the committee--Reid and Pelosi--are not adults but glorified high schoolers with too much power and authority. The results of their hijinxs were entirely predictable.
But someone in the WH, likely Rahm Emanuel, made the decision to farm out the agenda to Congress likely based on a misreading of recent history. They did not want to repeat the supposed mistake of the Clinton administration that crafted HillaryCare in the WH and had complete ownership of that issue. Its defeat was laid at the doorstep of the WH, not Congress, even though the voters took it out on the Dems in the 1994 elections. Obama decided to make Congress the fall guy for healthcare reform (if it fails) by giving ownership of it to Congress. The same with the stimulus bill. Unfortunately for Obama healthcare reform (in its current form) is so unpopular that it is dragging down both Congress and his adminisration. The lesson here is that the president cannot insulate himself from responsibility for bad policy whether it is crafted in the WH or in Congress.
More importantly Obama campaigned as a centrist precisely so as to not alarm an electorate that remains center-right. But his governance has been firmly palnted in the far left wing of his party where by nature he is more comfortable. In effect the campaign was a bait-and-switch and voters have not appreciated the deception.
Yes he did and replaced most of those moderate folks right after he won the election. I wonder how many people knew that.
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