Domocrats' Slow Motion Train Wreck

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Nov. 2, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

         While President Barack Obama crisscrosses the country in a frenetic last-ditch bid to get out the vote, Democrats brace themselves for an earth-shaking collision Nov. 2.  Folks down-under get the power of the boomerang, where the lethal weapon hurls forward then reverses course to scalp its prey.  When Obama ran in 2008 on the over-arching theme of hope, he promised a new kind of politics, replacing Washington’s bitter political divide.  Suave, genteel and charismatic, perhaps the best public speaker since President John F. Kennedy, or at least the late President Ronald Reagan, Obama raised high expectations for a new type of politics.  Whether or not he entered the fray with a battered economy thanks to his predecessor President George W. Bush, Barack promised a fresh face and changed attitude.  Twenty-months into his first term, the nation is more divided than ever.

            When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ran against Barack in 2008, she warned of Barack’s youth and inexperience.  His first 20 months expose a gaping hole between how Barack was sold in ’08 to how he’s governed heading into the midterm elections.  Instead of regrouping after his stunning victory over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) Nov. 4, 2008, the president in-training deferred to Party elders to set his legislative agenda.  Euphoric over his ostensible mandate, Barack turned over his decision making to Pentagon Chief Defense Secretary Robert Gates and domestic czars House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), two of the most partisan members of Congress.  To implement his program, he hired Democratic strongman Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) to push his progressive agenda through Congress.

            Instead of finding common ground with Republicans, Pelosi, Reid and Emanuel went full-steam ahead with Democrats’ health care reform plan during a time of recession and rising unemployment.  Barack promised health care reform would add more jobs and reduce mushrooming budget deficits caused by the nation’s 2008 financial collapse.  Instead of reading the polls in terms of the right direction, Barack pushed health care reform at all costs, eventually signing it into law March 23.  Three months later he signed historic financial reform into law July 21, promising sweeping changes to prevent another collapse.  Only one small problem, his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, formerly with the New York Fed and Goldman Sachs, made sure that nothing substantive was done to rein in the same forces, especially unregulated hedge and private equity funds, that took down the markets.

             Barack rode a 70% approval rating on taking office Jan. 20, 2009.  Twenty months later he’s under 46% with a new Associated Press-Knowledge Networks’ poll indicating that 51% of Democratic voters believe he should be challenged in 2012 for the nomination for a second term.  Adding insult-to-injury, Barack gave the Pentagon a green light to prosecute a Bush-like troop-surge in Afghanistan, adding 50,000 troops since taking office.  Given the sluggish economy, partisan legislation and escalation in Afghanistan, Barack has lost some Democrats and independent voters seeking the type of change he promised in the campaign.  Democrats, Republicans and independents are about to send the president a loud message on Nov. 2:  Deliver on your campaign promises or face a mutiny by 2012.  Losing the House isn’t the end of the world but it mirrors the street’s general discontent.

            When Barack ran in 2008, voters gave him the benefit of the doubt, despite his relative inexperience.  When he deferred his presidential decision making to Pelosi, Reid and Emanuel he made a cardinal mistake.  All three had something in common:  They’re unlikable.  Barack squandered his image letting all three steal the headlines and White House publicity.  Instead of controlling the message, Barack allowed all three to set the administration’s legislative agenda, but, far more importantly, the adversarial tone that he promised to change.  Asking Democratic and independent voters to rush to the polls now doesn’t resonate like in 2008.  Back then, there were high hopes for a new kind of leader and governing style.  Today’s voters reflect painful disappointment less with his legislative accomplishments but more with Barack’s failure to deliver the bipartisanship promised in 2008.

            Heading for the iceberg Nov. 2, Obama’s leadership style will be tested as never before.  His strategists placed too much faith in pushing for unpopular legislation, especially health care, at all costs. Polls told the White House that the vast middle class didn’t support his sweeping overhaul.  When the dust settles Nov. 2, Obama will face, most likely, a House led by Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).  Pelosi and Reid will be distant memories, with Rahm already jumping ship to run for Chicago mayor.  What’s left is the damage they did to Barack’s image and bitter partisanship plaguing Washington.  Unless the ever-optimistic Barack turns a new leaf, finds his charisma and asserts his own leadership, all bets are off for 2012.  Democrats can’t bet in 2012 that the GOP will make the same mistakes next time around.

.About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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