Thomas Friedman had an article the other day in the N.Y.Times equating Obama to Tiger Wood’s lost swing as a president that’s fallen flat; while there are those who believe that to be great, Obama has to “figure it out”. But they actually miss the point of what’s been going on. His presidency might not have lived up to our expectations, but then again, perhaps it wasn’t entirely his doing. I believe he figured it out long ago. For one with such shared lofty goals and capabilities at the beginning of his term, it’s hard to argue that all of a sudden he abandoned those goals. So what happened? There’s a reason; and considering the hand Obama has been dealt with, I think he’s done as well as can be expected under the circumstances.
Now what hand is that? It was no secret from early on that it was the intention of the opposing party that their game plan would be to assure that he was a “one term president”. We’ve heard that many times. So, how does one make such a bold claim if not with the intention of backing it up? How can a minority party succeed? Easy; and we’ve seen their capability in action but most refuse to acknowledge it.
The Grand bargain referred to during the debt reduction negotiations could have happened years ago under any president. But not, now, with a Democratic president. Politics have changed. He knew this, that’s why he’s not forthcoming with proposals that he knows will get shot down by those desirous of not aiding his presidency. Ideologues now control enough in the Republican Party that they cannot control their tea party faction; one that would be willing to shut down the government. Look what happened with the healthcare legislation—before the Tea Party! Is that the country we grew up in? That’s the kind of country the Ron Pauls and Eric Cantors want; something from the 1900’s? A few ideologues can control the fate of the rest, right or wrong? You may not like the new dynamic, but you can’t blame the president for that. You can’t blame him for the wars, the banking failures, the deficit, the unemployment that came with the financial crisis, the decaying infrastructure that was inherited and the time and energy spent trying to stabilize a situation while dealing with an obstreperous congress that wanted nothing more than his failure as a president; regardless of the consequences for the country! So you want to blame him because he hasn’t figured out how to override a recalcitrant congress’s constitutional ability to filibuster proof a requirement that he get 60 votes instead of the usual 51; and how to change tea party fanatics into rational, responsible, elected officials? That’s his fault? You want to blame the black man for more of the country’s woes? Or would it have happened to any Democratic president? So is it the recalcitrance black, democratic, or both?
People are just looking at the results and for blame—not the reasons for the lack of results or even what he was able to eek out in spite of the negativity by the opposition. There’s one thing to understand from the outset. We are dealing with a faction of fanatics willing to put ideology before country and spin the fear by not following their failed policies. That’s unpatriotic. The question was pointed to the candidates at their pre Iowa “debate”; if there were expense side savings of 10 to 1 vs raising revenues, would it be accepted? The answer was no. Is this an opposing party willing to compromise? But when you have a congress that ordinarily works on “majority rules”, there is obviously an implied understanding there has to be compromise; not compromise an impossible 60/40! And when there is a compromise, it’s not satisfying rational positions.
Personally, I really don’t care who gets credit for workable solutions to difficult problems. But politics of late have become unsatisfying because of the guerilla tactics used by a splinter faction with an extreme ideological agenda. They’re even difficult for the Republican Party to manage and it falls under their umbrella. Yet, it is this faction that is out of touch with America and what it stands for; one more interested in putting god in government before solving problems. I don’t believe most stand for 1900 style politics or believe that handling 2011 worldly issues can be addressed with 2500 year old dogma. But the President can become bold with his agenda for the coming election year and demand to see who is for the country and who is against by proposing a jobs bill referendum. If he doesn’t, then you can blame him.
No Flies !
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