ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style5 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">State-of-the-Union</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright Jan..27, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style5"> F</span>acing an angry mob, President Barack Obama must pull a rabbit out of his hat tonight at his State-of-the-Union address, tempered by buyers remorse after nearly a year in office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When he beat Sen. John McCain Nov. 4, 2008, expectations soared for a new era in American politics, healed by a new voice preaching hope and optimism about the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>One year into his reign, Obama finds himself in the unenviable position of explaining a slow response to a stubborn recession, with many Americans looking dismally at the futures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Barack took office Jan. 20, 2009, he enjoyed a euphoric honeymoon, cutting the 48-year-old former first-term Illinois senator plenty of slack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama asked for patience but got more frustration from voters expecting better results from his first year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Today s State-of-the-Union speech must allay lingering doubts about his leadership.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Barack s problem involves growing skepticism about his leadership abilities, having already failed to deliver bipartisanship to Washington.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When he crusaded for president, Obama spoke often of a new post-partisan era, where liberals and conservatives could join hands for the common good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His decision to allow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to direct White House efforts on health care reform demonstrated weak leadership skills, especially allowing the country to divide itself along ideological lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Not a single Republican elected official supported Barack s health care reform, partly due to the GOP s attempt to derail Obama s political freight-train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Republicans and independents, like Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), couldn t trust Barack s reassurances about the effect of health care reform on the U.S. economy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Despite low approval ratings on health care, Democrats pushed for health care reform at the expense of more pressing problems, especially a stubborn recession with over 10% unemployment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack s popularity wasn t helped Dec. 2 when he decided to add 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Democrats lost their supermajority Jan. 19 with Massachusetts state Sen. Scott Brown winning the late Sen. Ted Kennedy s (D-Mass.) seat, Barack s signature health care legislation was derailed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Tonight s State-of-the-Union speech presents a slippery slope for Barack, wanting, on the one hand, to reassert his control as president, while, on the other, offer an olive branch to a hostile opposition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack must acknowledge his defeat while appealing to the GOP for more work on health care reform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack knows Republicans want to take more seats in the midterm elections.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Barack s speech must cover all the bases without looking like he s given up on important legislative goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Taking his lumps without whining defuses the opposition looking to catch the president in a weak moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While it hurts to take the criticism, accepting it demonstrates character to what many see as abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>In today s contentious atmosphere, Barack needs to show graciousness to his critics while, at the same time, displaying persistence in advancing his political agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Because unemployment reigns supreme, Barack must show an unflagging commitment to jumpstart the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It s not the best time to berate Wall Street and push tougher regulations when the economy reels from a stubborn recession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack walks a fine line blaming lax regulation for the current economic mess, yet asking Wall Street to help fix the problem.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>When Barack sent 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan Dec. 2, his liberal base, independents and crossover Republicans got buyer s remorse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Voters need to be reassured that the president continues, in Iraq and Afghanistan, to expedite an end to both wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>War spending has contributed to ballooning budget deficits, and a lack of resources for domestic programs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Scaling back defense spending and shifting priorities to an aggressive domestic agenda filled with FDR-Keynesian-like public works programs, helps reassure voters that the White House is committed to jobs rebuilding infrastructure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Beyond that, Obama must reassure Wall Street that he intends to remove regulatory obstacles for small businesses, the backbone of the U.S. economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Talking up regulatory reform now only plays into GOP complaints that the president shows bias against the private sector.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Obama s State-of-the-Union must send a loud message to his GOP critics that he remains securely at the government s helm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While he missed some opportunities trying to overhaul the nation s health care system, he s poised to lead the country to economic recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Phasing out costly foreign wars should be center of any plan to change priorities from defense to domestic spending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Committing billions to high-speed rail in Florida and California shows that the president s commitment to the kinds of new infrastructure designed to reduce the current staggering levels of unemployment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama is savvy enough to know that the federal government can t employ the bulk of the nation s unemployed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack must reassure a nervous Wall Street that, despite past abuses, he intends to remove roadblocks, open doors and help the nation s business community flourish.</p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author <i>of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a></i> and <i><a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a></i>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>