As it becomes increasingly clear to me that the Obama Administration is ill-equipped to handle the current realities of the world, I have to ask myself - am I disappointed in him? My answer is very clear: no, because I never expected anything in the first place.
Now, I realize this is a bit harsh, but I must confess that I was never impressed with the man. Yes, he can deliver an impressive speech on occasion (although even here I think the bar has been progressively lowered over the past 30-40 years), but at no point during his campaign did I get the sense that he saw the larger picture. What I did see is a master tactician, someone with an innate ability to outwit and confound his opponents. Doubtless this ability comes in handy - witness the fun he's having with the hapless GOP - but it's all in vain if there's nothing behind it.
So let's remind ourselves, why did Obama run? To bring "Change." While I would hardly dispute the wisdom of repudiating the Bush years, "I'm not Bush" was hardly a positive vision for the country. The next president, inevitably, was not going to be Bush! Something more was and is needed, without which we're just bouncing from one pointless tactical victory to another with nothing accomplished of actual importance to the American people.
Please look at this chart for a breakdown of partisan identification. The Republicans have taken a nose dive, but support for Democrats has also weakened (admittedly not to the same degree). I put it to you that this is because Obama and the Democrats have not presented a viable governing philosophy. To be sure, they've put forward various measures and policy proposals, but this is hardly the same thing. Do they have a governing philosophy? In their own words, what would their America look like?
In my next post, I plan to outline my own philosophy of government.
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1 comment:
In response to your Facebook response:
I'm not worried about Palin in 2012. She wasn't a viable VP pick, and she'd be even less viable as a Presidential candidate.
To be honest, I was neutral on Obama and McCain until he made his horrific VP choice clearly pandering to the far right and disenchanted Hillary voters (read: women). And the far right are the only ones that will vote for Palin, especially after she quit her day job.
I see Romney as the threat in 2012, and although ?I voted for McCain and AGAINST Romney during the the MA primary (I was pretty Obama/Clinton neutral too until she wouldn't quit when the writing was on the wall). That said, after McCain's VP pick, I kind of wished it could have been Obama/Romney to see a good fight, be the comedic value (i.e. black comedy) Palin brought to the election was worth it (unlike the bad joke that Bush was because he "won" both times...).
Honestly, I am hoping for the following scenario to play out: Obama finally gets traction, and the dems do well, and the next election is against Palin. If McCain got beat, she'd get destroyed, and that would hopefully be the end of the Republican party.
I'm not a democrat, but the Republicans make me sick. The depth to which the sink to try to bad mouth their opponent is appalling ("Obama isn't a US citizen", "Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim [read terrorist]", "His pastor hates white people", "Hillary Clinton is a man", etc.).
Not that the Democrats are without fault. They can't seem to get anything done, and it seems to be rooted in their ideology, or rather the lack thereof. I feel like the Republicans are solidified in their positions (pro-gun, anti-abortion, anti-immigrant, pro-big business, etc.) so, with the two party system in our democratically elected republic, if you aren't in one, you are in the other (with the notable exceptions of Senators Lieberman and Sanders who are Independents). As a result, the Democrats a a group of leftovers, and a party made up of widely differing opinions isn't as efficient, hence the Democrats not getting anything done.
At the end of the day, I tend to think that the Rublicans are a bunch of A-holes, and the Democrats are a bunch of Pussies.
So why do
I wish a speedy death to the Republican party? My hope is that with its demise, out of the ashes would arise more parties, and that more parties would reduce voter apathy. And maybe we could then get better representation that more adequately reflected what the people want in this country, not just the Fortune 500 and the special interests.
Mind you, my ruminating is so full of idealism and optimism, that you need a shovel, and it will surely never play out. But it'd be nice...
You shouln't be too hard on Obama though. He probably learned the same the all the other new guys do: the situations crossing the desk in the Oval Office is far different than what they thought while campaigning, and they had to suddenly balance their promises with reality.
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