Too smart by half

Too smart by half

The President ran on a platform of hope and change, problem is, now he has to deliver. His camp set the bar high on reform and post partisanship but nine months into his presidency, the American people are loudly rejecting his centerpiece reform of health care and by all indications of his policy leanings, he is decidedly to the far left in a center-right country.

Mr. Obama’s present troubles largely come from what he promised during his campaign. The now infamous Fred Armisen/Saturday Night Live spoof hits the nail directly on the head – Candidate Obama over-promised for 20+ months but President Obama has not delivered though he has a democrat majority in both the House and Senate:

• Candidate Obama promised to close Gitmo; President Obama did so yet it remains open
• Candidate Obama promised to withdraw from Iraq; President Obama has not order a withdrawal
• Candidate Obama promised to focus on the war in Afghanistan; President Obama is waffling on his commitment
• Candidate Obama promised transparency; President Obama has largely been stealthy
• Candidate Obama promised to reduce the deficit and reign in spending; President Obama signed a budget busting “stimulus”
• Candidate Obama promised to bring back jobs; President Obama presides over 9.8% unemployment figure that continues to rise
• Candidate Obama promised to go through the federal budget line-by-line and make cuts; President Obama doesn’t have line-item veto power

In my last post I outlined what the President should be doing. Instead of pushing health care reform, he ought to be engaged on three fronts: the economy and jobs, the war in Afghanistan and Iran. Should he take decisive action on these issues, the poll numbers would swing his way.

The problem for the President is he can’t do any of those things without alienating his base: giving corporations tax breaks and other incentives to up productivity and begin hiring won’t go over well with democrats and most independents. Taking a tough stance on Iran will make the left apoplectic and sending more troops to Afghanistan will cause the anti-war crowd to go insane. By contrast, republicans and center-right independents would support such policies, but at the cost of his base.

Candidate Obama ran on a slogan of change we can believe in and his supporters believed him. With such lofty promises, Candidate Obama has made President Obama’s job near impossible.

Turn strategy…what Mr. Obama should be doing

As I wrote in my last post, “President Obama’s approval ratings are slipping and support for his policies are likewise sliding; this has caused an early but seemingly plausible forecast for both 2010 and 2012.”

But why is he having such a difficult time?

There is one simple reason: the President is trying to enact far left-of-center policies in a center-right country (all except for one major issue: the war in Afghanistan). Moreover, he’s not making any sense in doing what he’s doing.

Back in September when candidate Obama was sliding in the tracking polls, I suggested a turn strategy – that is, a new direction and dynamic that would refocus his campaign. Fortunately for candidate Obama, Hillary’s helping hand and McCain’s pitiful campaign were just enough to put him in the White House.

What the President needs to do now, frankly, is stop pissing everyone off. He’s angering practically every constituency group in one way or another and doesn’t seem to have a clue or worse, care.

Allow me to expound:

Unemployment is nearly 10% -- President Obama jets off across the pond to pitch for the 2016 Olympics to be held in his “home town”.

The left wants out of Afghanistan, the president commits more troops in a surge and six months later, troop deaths are rising, the General in-charge is asking for more troops to secure the region and the President isn’t responding. Meanwhile, the right wants to give the General more troops and again, the President isn’t responding.

Foreclosures are at an all time high and Mr. Obama is traveling around the country talking about health care.

Iran is thumbing their nose at us with their nuclear ambitions and the President says we’ll continue to talk tough, effectively throwing Israel under the bus.

One day, illegal immigrants will be given the same coverage under Obamacare, the next, not-so-much, but wait a week and that too will change.

The economy continues to get worse after passing a stimulus package and the President is talking about passing another.

Good grief man, no wonder Mr. Obama’s poll numbers continue slopping downward. What needs to be done now is for the President to be in the here and now – stop bludgeoning everyone to death with health care reform and start paying attention and speaking about the economy. Forget about the Olympics and focus on the war in Afghanistan.

What this translates into is a President aloof, putting his agenda ahead of the country’s problems. This damages his standing and makes for confusion; since he ran on a platform of change, none one thought the change would be for the worse.

If Mr. Obama would just concentrate on what is affecting Americans most, not only would his poll numbers rise, but so would his credibility.

-- KillswitchPolitick