Comments on: Obama is not delivering the goods http://warincontext.org/2009/08/15/obama-is-not-delivering-the-goods/ ... with attention to the unseen Wed, 23 May 2012 19:49:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: hquain http://warincontext.org/2009/08/15/obama-is-not-delivering-the-goods/comment-page-1/#comment-5092 hquain Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:27:52 +0000 http://warincontext.org/?p=1894#comment-5092 It's worth remembering where we were a year ago. Many of us were near despair as the Obama campaign seemed to be following in the footsteps of Kerry's, letting itself be slapped around endlessly and responding with a wan smile. The primary campaign basically died in the stretch as Hillary pulled off a last few futile victories and then it seemed to go silent for July. Obama's outstanding acceptance speech did not ignite a vigorous campaign, as planned: it disappeared within 18hrs -- and has never been heard from since -- because of the politically brilliant stroke of announcing Palin's candidacy the next day. The Republicans then proceeded to lose the election through sheer repulsiveness; recall that several of the big rightwing pundits were wavering at the end -- even Krauthammer, briefly -- unable to suppress the obvious, that Obama was superior in every respect to their man and that Palin was a positive threat to national security. Fast forward through the last year and it's clear that the campaign never stopped --- and its style did not change, either. Obama is still trying to appeal through decency, rationality, and cool; the Republicans are lobbing bombs; the Democrats mill around, contradicting each other and themselves. The terrain has changed, though. It is no longer enough to sit on the high ground and let the bad guys reveal their badness. Politicians in power must report successes. Obama stirred us by turning directly to face the problems that the Republicans had denied, hidden from, or created. On every visible front, he has apparently been stymied, inconsistent, watered-down, weakly prepared (to me, this is the real shocker), or even Bush-like (think of his recent words about Afghanistan to the VFW; his dithering about indefinite detention, and so on -- OK, this is also a real shocker). The bipartisanship canard, which involved ceding real authority over policy to rightists, has backfired. Rahm Emmanuel's do-it-all-now strategy appears to be headed toward across-the-board failure (largely predictable -- what theory of management deems it sane to fight all battles at once?). And the wages of perceived lack of power is real lack of power. The air has gone out of the balloon more slowly, perhaps, than in Clinton's first term, where in a matter of days he had the press all over him and a prominent legislative failure (gays in the military: remember Sam Nunn?). Woodward is absolutely right to be concerned about perceptions that Obama is not in control. 2010 is around the corner; the incumbent party typically loses seats at the midterms; a partial economic recovery will simply make people forget that anything ever went wrong and worry about the deficit that brought them the recovery. So far the principal public effect of the Obama presidency has been a resurgence of the far right, with the added spice of openly racist discourse appearing more widely than it has for decades. What is the way back? This is no rhetorical question. We are in very deep trouble if one is not found. It’s worth remembering where we were a year ago. Many of us were near despair as the Obama campaign seemed to be following in the footsteps of Kerry’s, letting itself be slapped around endlessly and responding with a wan smile. The primary campaign basically died in the stretch as Hillary pulled off a last few futile victories and then it seemed to go silent for July. Obama’s outstanding acceptance speech did not ignite a vigorous campaign, as planned: it disappeared within 18hrs — and has never been heard from since — because of the politically brilliant stroke of announcing Palin’s candidacy the next day. The Republicans then proceeded to lose the election through sheer repulsiveness; recall that several of the big rightwing pundits were wavering at the end — even Krauthammer, briefly — unable to suppress the obvious, that Obama was superior in every respect to their man and that Palin was a positive threat to national security.

Fast forward through the last year and it’s clear that the campaign never stopped — and its style did not change, either. Obama is still trying to appeal through decency, rationality, and cool; the Republicans are lobbing bombs; the Democrats mill around, contradicting each other and themselves. The terrain has changed, though. It is no longer enough to sit on the high ground and let the bad guys reveal their badness. Politicians in power must report successes. Obama stirred us by turning directly to face the problems that the Republicans had denied, hidden from, or created. On every visible front, he has apparently been stymied, inconsistent, watered-down, weakly prepared (to me, this is the real shocker), or even Bush-like (think of his recent words about Afghanistan to the VFW; his dithering about indefinite detention, and so on — OK, this is also a real shocker). The bipartisanship canard, which involved ceding real authority over policy to rightists, has backfired. Rahm Emmanuel’s do-it-all-now strategy appears to be headed toward across-the-board failure (largely predictable — what theory of management deems it sane to fight all battles at once?). And the wages of perceived lack of power is real lack of power.

The air has gone out of the balloon more slowly, perhaps, than in Clinton’s first term, where in a matter of days he had the press all over him and a prominent legislative failure (gays in the military: remember Sam Nunn?). Woodward is absolutely right to be concerned about perceptions that Obama is not in control. 2010 is around the corner; the incumbent party typically loses seats at the midterms; a partial economic recovery will simply make people forget that anything ever went wrong and worry about the deficit that brought them the recovery. So far the principal public effect of the Obama presidency has been a resurgence of the far right, with the added spice of openly racist discourse appearing more widely than it has for decades.

What is the way back? This is no rhetorical question. We are in very deep trouble if one is not found.

]]> By: Jon http://warincontext.org/2009/08/15/obama-is-not-delivering-the-goods/comment-page-1/#comment-5089 Jon Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:29:43 +0000 http://warincontext.org/?p=1894#comment-5089 I can't believe that people ever took Obama so seriously. He is a cynical product of advertising and corporate America. OK, he's not Bush. So what? I can’t believe that people ever took Obama so seriously. He is a cynical product of advertising and corporate America. OK, he’s not Bush. So what?

]]> By: DE Teodoru http://warincontext.org/2009/08/15/obama-is-not-delivering-the-goods/comment-page-1/#comment-5053 DE Teodoru Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:38:23 +0000 http://warincontext.org/?p=1894#comment-5053 Worry not about Obama for though he can't deliver goods now, he will take them from thief and give them back to rightful owner before the drama ends. Right now he is busy fighting American thieves-- HMOs-- so he can't be in two places at once (US and Mideast). But later he will indeed make Israel do right; US can't afford not to. But woe be the Zionazis trying to put the Americanism of US Jews in doubt by intimidating them into silent compliance with the injustice to their Palestinian Semitic brethren of an illbegotten much Greater Israel. Worry not about Obama for though he can’t deliver goods now, he will take them from thief and give them back to rightful owner before the drama ends. Right now he is busy fighting American thieves– HMOs– so he can’t be in two places at once (US and Mideast). But later he will indeed make Israel do right; US can’t afford not to. But woe be the Zionazis trying to put the Americanism of US Jews in doubt by intimidating them into silent compliance with the injustice to their Palestinian Semitic brethren of an illbegotten much Greater Israel.

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