Obama's Way Forward after Nov. 2 Massacre

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright November 7, 2010
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             Pumped up after sweeping wins in the Nov. 2 midterm elections, Republicans are quick to misinterpret the verdict as a rejection of President Barack Obama’s policies.  “I think this week’s election was a historic rejection of American liberalism and the Obama and Pelosi agenda,” said Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), mirroring self-serving views of the GOP after two years as minority party.  Pence knows that Obama’s approval ratings lurk at around 46%, not too bad when you consider the rotten economy that colors most voters’ feelings.  Inheriting a mess from his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama knew, as stated in his inauguration speech, that the road ahead wouldn’t be easy.  Turning around the worst economy since the Great Depression wasn’t going to happen overnight nor would it be easy to placate voters’ growing indignation from high unemployment and anemic economy.

            Losing 61 votes in the House and handing the reins to Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) wasn’t the scenario most Democrats wanted.  Obama now signals he must make a “midcourse correction,” embracing a more bipartisan approach to governing.  His first two years in office were characterized by deferring his legislative agenda to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.  While hindsight is always 20/20, the 49-year-old president relied too heavily on the three to set his policy.  Pushing for national health care ecliplsed a more common sense bipartisan approach that would have delayed such historic legislation until the economy was in full recovery.  Obama let old political wounds, especially during the years following Sept. 11, dictate a more partisan and aggressive Democratic agenda.

            Pelosi, Reid and Emanuel convinced Obama that he must pursue the holy grail of Democratic wish-lists:  National health care.  What the Clinton’s couldn’t pull off in the early ‘90s, Barack could attach his name in perpetuity to the biggest piece of social legislation since Social Security [1936] and Medicare [1964].  Democrats’ euphoria in the 2008 GOP massacre misinterpreted voters preferences then, just a much as the GOP makes the same mistake today.  In 2008, Obama was swept into office out of voter disgust for the Bush administration’s domestic and foreign policy failures.  Bush’s failed economy swept Democrats into office in ‘08, just as two years later it did the same for Republicans.  While the country’s economic woes started under Bush, they’re now Obama’s to fix.  Democrats only pray that the same fate that hit former President GeorgeH.W. Bush in 1992 doesn’t strike Barack in 2012.

            Former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton lost sizable majorities in the House and Senate during their midterm elections of 1984 and 1992, respectively.  After pushing for health care last year, Obama only hopes the economy continues to recover from the worst economic plague since the Great Depression.  Obama must redouble efforts to fix the economy and, if needed, work with the GOP on onerous elements to his health care legislation. “The American people are tired of borrowing, the spending, the bailouts, the takeovers,” said Pence, forgetting that the bailouts started out of necessity under Bush.  Tea Party Republicans can rant and rave all they want about spending but the Federal Reserve Board under Chairman Bernanke had no choice other than bailing out bankrupt financial institutions.  Pretending otherwise reveals the GOP’s egregious dishonesty.

            Neither Republicans today nor Democrats in 2008 had any mandate other than to fix the economy and reduce Washington’s partisanship.  Barack ran in 2008 on a new brand of post-partisan politics, bringing the GOP and Democrats on the same page.  His presidency was hijacked by Pelosi, Reid and Emanuel, pushing for national health care at a time when voters needed more jobs.  More massive debt, for health care or anything else, hurts Wall Street’s long-term growth and the overall economy.  When the new congress meets in January, Barack must stop the partisan wrangling and work with Republicans to fix health care reform.  If the Congress can fashion legislation to prevent insurance companies from redlining patients with preexisting conditions or dropping them with serious illnesses, Obama will have achieved his goal of building more fairness into the system.

            Before the 2012 sweepstakes heats up, Barack faces the major test of his presidency:  Working with the GOP to find common ground.  If the American people don’t want his prior health care reform bill, then all efforts should be directed toward fixing it with Republicans.  Fighting over a dead dog makes no sense politically when the goal is to prove Barack can lead on both sides of the aisle.  “We’re coming.  We’re proud.  We’re strong. We’re loud. And we’re going to co-opt.  And, in fact, we’re already shaping the debate,” said newly minted 47-year-old Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), referring to how the Tea Party has already made a dent.  Paul’s landslide election to the U.S. senate will no doubt prompt his 75-year-old father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), to take one more crack at president.  If the economy continues to sputter, Barack could be in for some tough sledding. 

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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