For those having difficulty making sense of Obamunist doubletalk, Bob Maistros offers a helpful glossary. Be sure to have it on hand next time you try to sit through a speech by Dear Leader.
Action (as in "now is the time for action") — big government.
Balanced and sustained (as in "chart a course for growth that is balanced and sustained") — involving more big government.
Choice — the opportunity to select big government.
Competition — we choose who wins.
Compromise — accepting my position after I give a big speech.
Cost savings — $900 billion in new spending.
Create or save (as in "create or save 4 million jobs") — destroy or lose, as in 2 million jobs.
Engagement — a combination of unilateral concessions and America-bashing abroad.
Fact (as in, "these are the facts" or "to state a fact") — my opinion.
Honest debate — agreeing with me.
Incorporate (as in "incorporate ideas from Republicans") — include in the early stages of a proposal and then have Pelosi and Reid drop like a hot potato behind closed doors in the final version.
Irresponsible (as in "irresponsible behavior") — constitutionally protected.
Misinformation — facts, when presented by our opponents.
Neutrality (as in "net neutrality") — favoring one side in a dispute, especially when that side has supported your campaign and provided a senior White House staff member.
Necessary (as in "necessary war") — not really that necessary, at least when it comes to backing up your words with required manpower and funding and standing up to your liberal base.
Negotiations without preconditions — the position I took vis-à-vis our enemies during the campaign, then denied taking, but am now trying to force on the Israelis.
Nobody (as in "nobody disputes [these facts]") — no liberals or members of the mainstream media.
Non-profit (as in proposals to establish tax-favored, non-profit status for failing newspapers) — making official a condition that has existed unofficially for years.
Nothing (as in "nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have") — everything.
Plan (as in, "the [health-care] plan I am announcing tonight") — a really good speech.
Respect (as in, "respects the rights of the Israelis and Palestinians" or "the Iranians and North Koreans") — overrun (Israelis) or elevate beyond reason with no expectation of reciprocity (everyone else).
Responsibility (as in the "responsibility" to buy health insurance or America's "responsibility" to confront global warming) — big government telling people or nations things they have to do. (See "Action" above.)
Scare tactics — see "Misinformation" above.
Security (as in "stability and security" in health care or "true security for all Israelis") — you're toast.
Stand by our friends — desert our friends in order to "engage" with our enemies. (See "Engagement" above.)
If you can't find the term you'd like to translate, use this handy rule of thumb: Obamunist doubletalk almost always means the precise opposite of what it pretends to mean.
September 28, 2009
September 23, 2009
U.N. Loves Obama Because He Is WEAK
Barack Obama’s Gallup approval rating of 52 percent may well be lower at this stage of his presidency than any US leader in recent times with the exception of Bill Clinton. But he is still worshipped with messiah-like adoration at the United Nations, and is considerably more popular with many of the 192 members of the UN than he is with the American people.
The latest Pew Global Attitudes Survey of international confidence in Obama’s leadership on foreign affairs shows strikingly high approval levels for the president in many parts of the world – 94 percent in Kenya, 93 percent in Germany, 88 percent in Canada and Nigeria, 77 percent in India, 76 percent in Brazil, 71 percent in Indonesia, and 62 percent in China for example. The Pew survey of 21 countries reveals an average level of 71 percent support for President Obama, compared to just 17 percent for George W. Bush in 2008.
As the figures indicate, Barack Obama is highly likely to receive a warm reception when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly today, whereas his predecessor in the White House was greeted with undisguised contempt and stony silence.
It is not hard to see why a standing ovation awaits the president at Turtle Bay. Obama’s popularity at the UN boils down essentially to his willingness to downplay American global power. He is the first American president who has made an art form out of apologizing for the United States, which he has done on numerous occasions on foreign soil, from Strasbourg to Cairo. The Obama mantra appears to be – ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do to atone for your country. This is a message that goes down very well in a world that is still seething with anti-Americanism.
It is natural that much of the UN will embrace an American president who declines to offer strong American leadership. A president who engages dictators like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez will naturally gain respect from the leaders of the more than 100 members of the United Nations who are currently designated as “partly free” or “not free” by respected watchdog Freedom House.
The UN is not a club of democracies - who still remain a minority within its membership – it is a vast melting pot of free societies, socialist regimes and outright tyrannies. Obama’s clear lack of interest in human rights issues is a big seller at the UN, where at least half its members have poor human rights records.
The president scores highly at the UN for refusing to project American values and military might on the world stage, with rare exceptions like the war against the Taliban. His appeasement of Iran, his bullying of Israel, his surrender to Moscow, his call for a nuclear free world, his siding with Marxists in Honduras, his talk of a climate change deal, have all won him plaudits in the large number of UN member states where US foreign policy has traditionally been viewed with contempt.
Simply put, Barack Obama is loved at the UN because he largely fails to advance real American leadership. This is a dangerous strategy of decline that will weaken US power and make her far more vulnerable to attack.
As we saw last week with his shameful surrender to Moscow over missile defence, the president is perfectly happy to undermine America’s allies and gut its strategic defences while currying favour with enemies and strategic competitors. The missile defence debacle is rightly viewed as a betrayal by the Poles and the Czechs, and Washington has clearly give the impression that it cares little about those who have bravely stood shoulder to shoulder with their US allies in Iraq, Afghanistan and the wider war on terror.
The Obama administration is now overseeing and implementing the biggest decline in American global power since Jimmy Carter. Unfortunately it may well take another generation for the United States to recover.
The latest Pew Global Attitudes Survey of international confidence in Obama’s leadership on foreign affairs shows strikingly high approval levels for the president in many parts of the world – 94 percent in Kenya, 93 percent in Germany, 88 percent in Canada and Nigeria, 77 percent in India, 76 percent in Brazil, 71 percent in Indonesia, and 62 percent in China for example. The Pew survey of 21 countries reveals an average level of 71 percent support for President Obama, compared to just 17 percent for George W. Bush in 2008.
As the figures indicate, Barack Obama is highly likely to receive a warm reception when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly today, whereas his predecessor in the White House was greeted with undisguised contempt and stony silence.
It is not hard to see why a standing ovation awaits the president at Turtle Bay. Obama’s popularity at the UN boils down essentially to his willingness to downplay American global power. He is the first American president who has made an art form out of apologizing for the United States, which he has done on numerous occasions on foreign soil, from Strasbourg to Cairo. The Obama mantra appears to be – ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do to atone for your country. This is a message that goes down very well in a world that is still seething with anti-Americanism.
It is natural that much of the UN will embrace an American president who declines to offer strong American leadership. A president who engages dictators like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez will naturally gain respect from the leaders of the more than 100 members of the United Nations who are currently designated as “partly free” or “not free” by respected watchdog Freedom House.
The UN is not a club of democracies - who still remain a minority within its membership – it is a vast melting pot of free societies, socialist regimes and outright tyrannies. Obama’s clear lack of interest in human rights issues is a big seller at the UN, where at least half its members have poor human rights records.
The president scores highly at the UN for refusing to project American values and military might on the world stage, with rare exceptions like the war against the Taliban. His appeasement of Iran, his bullying of Israel, his surrender to Moscow, his call for a nuclear free world, his siding with Marxists in Honduras, his talk of a climate change deal, have all won him plaudits in the large number of UN member states where US foreign policy has traditionally been viewed with contempt.
Simply put, Barack Obama is loved at the UN because he largely fails to advance real American leadership. This is a dangerous strategy of decline that will weaken US power and make her far more vulnerable to attack.
As we saw last week with his shameful surrender to Moscow over missile defence, the president is perfectly happy to undermine America’s allies and gut its strategic defences while currying favour with enemies and strategic competitors. The missile defence debacle is rightly viewed as a betrayal by the Poles and the Czechs, and Washington has clearly give the impression that it cares little about those who have bravely stood shoulder to shoulder with their US allies in Iraq, Afghanistan and the wider war on terror.
The Obama administration is now overseeing and implementing the biggest decline in American global power since Jimmy Carter. Unfortunately it may well take another generation for the United States to recover.
September 16, 2009
It Has Begun..Media Harassing Joe Wilson's Kids
Today's Hope and Change--In Obama's America, if you disagree with Dear Leader's misleading statements and misrepresentations publicly, even your children will be harassed.The state-run media is stalking Joe Wilson's children hoping to build a case that their father is a bigot. The AP reported:
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's oldest son defended his father against a claim by former President Jimmy Carter that the congressman's outburst during a speech by President Barack Obama was "based on racism."Responding to an audience question at a town hall at his presidential center in Atlanta, Carter said Tuesday that Wilson's outburst was also rooted in fears of a black president."I think it's based on racism," Carter said. "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president."But Wilson's son disputed that."There is not a racist bone in my dad's body," said Alan Wilson, an Iraq veteran who is running for state attorney general in South Carolina. "He doesn't even laugh at distasteful jokes. I won't comment on former President Carter, because I don't know President Carter. But I know my dad, and it's just not in him.""It's unfortunate people make that jump. People can disagree — and appropriately disagree — on issues of substance, but when they make the jump to race it's absolutely ludicrous. My brothers and I were raised by our parents to respect everyone regardless of background or race." Remember in present day Obama America if you oppose this marxist in any way...You are racist..plain and simple....
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's oldest son defended his father against a claim by former President Jimmy Carter that the congressman's outburst during a speech by President Barack Obama was "based on racism."Responding to an audience question at a town hall at his presidential center in Atlanta, Carter said Tuesday that Wilson's outburst was also rooted in fears of a black president."I think it's based on racism," Carter said. "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president."But Wilson's son disputed that."There is not a racist bone in my dad's body," said Alan Wilson, an Iraq veteran who is running for state attorney general in South Carolina. "He doesn't even laugh at distasteful jokes. I won't comment on former President Carter, because I don't know President Carter. But I know my dad, and it's just not in him.""It's unfortunate people make that jump. People can disagree — and appropriately disagree — on issues of substance, but when they make the jump to race it's absolutely ludicrous. My brothers and I were raised by our parents to respect everyone regardless of background or race." Remember in present day Obama America if you oppose this marxist in any way...You are racist..plain and simple....
September 9, 2009
Doctor Shortage Will Worsen Health Bill
The fundamental question that the Obama Administration has never answered is a simple one: How can they treat 50 million new patients with no extra doctors?A new report from the American Association of Medical Colleges underscores the urgency of this concern. The Association notes that the United States now suffers from a shortage of 15,000 doctors - a shortfall that is expected to grow to 125,000 in fifteen years. And, the Association reports, if universal health insurance is passed, the shortage will grow to over 150,000 by 2025.
While the number of elderly people in the U.S. is expected to grow by 60% over the next decade and a half, the number of doctors will increase by only about 6%. (Total U.S. population will rise by about 17% over the same period).This shortage of doctors will, inevitably, lead to the rationing of medical care, more quickly and drastically if the Obama plan is passed. In Massachusetts, where universal health coverage was enacted under Governor Mitt Romney in 2006, the Medical Society found that the number of patients who reported difficulty in getting care has already risen by 50% up to a quarter of the patient population. The New York Times reports that "a main reason for the logjam was long waiting times for appointments."In 1949, when President Harry Truman first proposed mandatory health insurance, he coupled his initiative with an expansion of federal aid to medical schools. But Obama makes no provision for an expansion of the pool of doctors, even as he grows the population of patients by up to 50 million.Indeed, by cutting medical fees by dropping the reimbursement rates under Medicare, he likely will hasten the retirement of many medical professionals worsening the underlying shortage. The Times quotes medical experts as predicting that the three years specified in the House bill as the time by which universal health insurance coverage will take effect "is not nearly enough time to build the supply of doctors needed to care for the additional tens of million of people who would become newly insured."Because there will not be enough doctors, nurses, and medical equipment for the massive influx of patients under the Obama plan, there will be rationing, more draconian year after year. As in Canada, it is this fundamental discrepancy between the number of patients and the population of doctors that will lead to rationing. From there, the inevitable consequence will be cutbacks in care for the elderly. Optional procedures, vital to quality life but not to survival, are likely to be limited. Hip replacements, new knees, hearing aids, and such are less and less likely to be approved. And, medical administrators will be less likely to OK surgery or expensive medical treatments for the elderly who they perceive to be at the end of their "quality" years.It is the shortage of doctors, not any specific language in the text of the legislation, that makes rationing and the so-called "death panels" cited by Sarah Palin inevitable.We all agree that everybody should have health insurance, but let us precede this step by expanding the number of doctors and nurses so that we can cover everyone without sacrificing the care for anyone. Otherwise, we are not giving 50 million new people medical care. We are consigning 300 million, and particularly the elderly among them, to long waiting lists.
While the number of elderly people in the U.S. is expected to grow by 60% over the next decade and a half, the number of doctors will increase by only about 6%. (Total U.S. population will rise by about 17% over the same period).This shortage of doctors will, inevitably, lead to the rationing of medical care, more quickly and drastically if the Obama plan is passed. In Massachusetts, where universal health coverage was enacted under Governor Mitt Romney in 2006, the Medical Society found that the number of patients who reported difficulty in getting care has already risen by 50% up to a quarter of the patient population. The New York Times reports that "a main reason for the logjam was long waiting times for appointments."In 1949, when President Harry Truman first proposed mandatory health insurance, he coupled his initiative with an expansion of federal aid to medical schools. But Obama makes no provision for an expansion of the pool of doctors, even as he grows the population of patients by up to 50 million.Indeed, by cutting medical fees by dropping the reimbursement rates under Medicare, he likely will hasten the retirement of many medical professionals worsening the underlying shortage. The Times quotes medical experts as predicting that the three years specified in the House bill as the time by which universal health insurance coverage will take effect "is not nearly enough time to build the supply of doctors needed to care for the additional tens of million of people who would become newly insured."Because there will not be enough doctors, nurses, and medical equipment for the massive influx of patients under the Obama plan, there will be rationing, more draconian year after year. As in Canada, it is this fundamental discrepancy between the number of patients and the population of doctors that will lead to rationing. From there, the inevitable consequence will be cutbacks in care for the elderly. Optional procedures, vital to quality life but not to survival, are likely to be limited. Hip replacements, new knees, hearing aids, and such are less and less likely to be approved. And, medical administrators will be less likely to OK surgery or expensive medical treatments for the elderly who they perceive to be at the end of their "quality" years.It is the shortage of doctors, not any specific language in the text of the legislation, that makes rationing and the so-called "death panels" cited by Sarah Palin inevitable.We all agree that everybody should have health insurance, but let us precede this step by expanding the number of doctors and nurses so that we can cover everyone without sacrificing the care for anyone. Otherwise, we are not giving 50 million new people medical care. We are consigning 300 million, and particularly the elderly among them, to long waiting lists.
September 7, 2009
Would Reagan Stand For This?
It is AMAZING how the current regime AND their Lapdog Media ALWAYS tries to run crappy news items on Friday, especially before a big holiday. That way, with their quest for utter transparency in govenment, the people can't review it or see it before it is too late. Can ANYONE imagine this bullsh*t happening with ANY other president (even BJ Bubba would have said no) but our Commie Punk-in-Chief? He who has a CommieCzar closet full of radical leftists and whose friends are as far to the Left as Lenin and Stalin? No. Read on my friends but have a puke bag handy.
EXCERPT: "The national flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) will be hoisted at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on September 20, media reported Sunday. Chinese associations in the United States had applied to hold a ceremony in front of the US President’s residence to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of PRC. Chen Ronghua, chairman of Fujian Association of the United States, told reporters that their application was approved not only because of the sound Sino-US relations but also because China is a responsible country. "Many Americans admire China due to the success of last year’s Beijing Olympics," said Chen. More than 1,000 people will attend the ceremony and the performances held after it, according to Zhao Luqun, who will direct the performances. Zhao said the performances will demonstrate the friendship, magnanimous spirit and kindness of modern Chinese people."
For those of us who fought in the Cold War, or in a Hot one for that matter, against Communism, this is especially obnoxious. The Gunny's father fought in the Cold War from the outset (1948), the Gunny and his brothers served in the military at some time during the Cold War, and the Gunny had two Uncles who fought in Korea, from 1951-53. The SHITE coming out of the White House under Obama is simply unbelieveable. Check out the "commie-speak" here:
1. "Many Americans admire China due to the success of last year’s Beijing Olympics." Really? The Gunny didn't waste one minute watching that sh*t and he is sure many other Americans didn't as well. Nice appeal to emotion and authority here, i.e., the "Big Lie." Liberals and Communists are great at this one.
2. "More than 1,000 people will attend the ceremony." In other words, a rigged game. A nice appeal to novelty but no go here. Liberals also try to justify their actions with this one.
3. "the performances will demonstrate the friendship, magnanimous spirit and kindness of modern Chinese people." Good GOD! You can't make this crap up. This is straight out of a commie textbook. Yeah, let the Gunny guess, they want peace and love for the world as well. So do the liberals, as long as you let THEM run the show.
Only an idiot, a stooge so steeped in Marxism an Communism woul allow something like THIS to happen. The US Flag coming DOWN and a COMMIE flag going up on US SOIL? Are you F***ING KIDDING ME!? Whoever approved this in the US government should be tried an shot for being serially stupid. Probably ANOTHER Obama appointee without a CLUE of what America stands for an what we're ALL about.
EXCERPT: "The national flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) will be hoisted at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on September 20, media reported Sunday. Chinese associations in the United States had applied to hold a ceremony in front of the US President’s residence to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of PRC. Chen Ronghua, chairman of Fujian Association of the United States, told reporters that their application was approved not only because of the sound Sino-US relations but also because China is a responsible country. "Many Americans admire China due to the success of last year’s Beijing Olympics," said Chen. More than 1,000 people will attend the ceremony and the performances held after it, according to Zhao Luqun, who will direct the performances. Zhao said the performances will demonstrate the friendship, magnanimous spirit and kindness of modern Chinese people."
For those of us who fought in the Cold War, or in a Hot one for that matter, against Communism, this is especially obnoxious. The Gunny's father fought in the Cold War from the outset (1948), the Gunny and his brothers served in the military at some time during the Cold War, and the Gunny had two Uncles who fought in Korea, from 1951-53. The SHITE coming out of the White House under Obama is simply unbelieveable. Check out the "commie-speak" here:
1. "Many Americans admire China due to the success of last year’s Beijing Olympics." Really? The Gunny didn't waste one minute watching that sh*t and he is sure many other Americans didn't as well. Nice appeal to emotion and authority here, i.e., the "Big Lie." Liberals and Communists are great at this one.
2. "More than 1,000 people will attend the ceremony." In other words, a rigged game. A nice appeal to novelty but no go here. Liberals also try to justify their actions with this one.
3. "the performances will demonstrate the friendship, magnanimous spirit and kindness of modern Chinese people." Good GOD! You can't make this crap up. This is straight out of a commie textbook. Yeah, let the Gunny guess, they want peace and love for the world as well. So do the liberals, as long as you let THEM run the show.
Only an idiot, a stooge so steeped in Marxism an Communism woul allow something like THIS to happen. The US Flag coming DOWN and a COMMIE flag going up on US SOIL? Are you F***ING KIDDING ME!? Whoever approved this in the US government should be tried an shot for being serially stupid. Probably ANOTHER Obama appointee without a CLUE of what America stands for an what we're ALL about.
September 4, 2009
Hey Did You Read The Job Description??
In case the Bama failed to read the full job description before he took the gig, it involves preserving,protecting, and defending the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The presidency knows no break, no true vacation, no real uninterrupted downtime. That's the nature of the job. If anyone doesn't want to live that way for four or eight years, then they have no business running for the job to begin with.
Our current president just returned from a week's vacation on Martha's Vineyard, only to hightail it to Camp David for the rest of the week and through the Labor Day weekend, because, as his spokesman Bill Burton put it, "He needs a break from his vacation."
Burton went on to say that the Bama had been looking for a news-free week last week, but it didn't turn out that way, with the re-nomination of Ben Bernanke to the Fed and Ted Kennedy moving on to meet his Maker.
So apparently, the Bama is bushed from his vacation and needs another one. He's so exhausted from those whopping two events last week that he needs to really escape. Someone book this man a spa getaway with the girls!
Here's the bottom line: I don't think he likes being president.
Don't get me wrong: I think he loves the power of it; the power to say, ruin the free market or send mash notes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez or investigate our own patriotic and dedicated CIA operatives. I also think he loves the perks: the plane, the valets, the private chef, the never having to get stuck in traffic.
But I don't think he likes the demands on his time, the heavy lifting of policy, the schmoozing necessary to pass legislation. In other words, he doesn't like governing. He finds it boring. A waste of his time---time better spent working out, smoking, sleeping in, and playing golf.
This is why he turned over every major piece of legislation to Nancy Pelosi and her rabid band of left-wing zanies to write: the waste of a trillion dollars known as the economic stimulus, the cap and trade job killer, and the government takeover of health care. He sat back and let them dictate the terms, because he was too busy planning the destruction of the country---and oh yeah, his next vacation. The result is that all three policies have either been policy or political catastrophes, for him, his party, and the nation. No wonder he needs another vacay.
There's delegating responsibility---and then there's failure to lead.
The Bama has utterly failed the test of leadership so far.
But he's passed the vacation test with flying colors.
Our current president just returned from a week's vacation on Martha's Vineyard, only to hightail it to Camp David for the rest of the week and through the Labor Day weekend, because, as his spokesman Bill Burton put it, "He needs a break from his vacation."
Burton went on to say that the Bama had been looking for a news-free week last week, but it didn't turn out that way, with the re-nomination of Ben Bernanke to the Fed and Ted Kennedy moving on to meet his Maker.
So apparently, the Bama is bushed from his vacation and needs another one. He's so exhausted from those whopping two events last week that he needs to really escape. Someone book this man a spa getaway with the girls!
Here's the bottom line: I don't think he likes being president.
Don't get me wrong: I think he loves the power of it; the power to say, ruin the free market or send mash notes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez or investigate our own patriotic and dedicated CIA operatives. I also think he loves the perks: the plane, the valets, the private chef, the never having to get stuck in traffic.
But I don't think he likes the demands on his time, the heavy lifting of policy, the schmoozing necessary to pass legislation. In other words, he doesn't like governing. He finds it boring. A waste of his time---time better spent working out, smoking, sleeping in, and playing golf.
This is why he turned over every major piece of legislation to Nancy Pelosi and her rabid band of left-wing zanies to write: the waste of a trillion dollars known as the economic stimulus, the cap and trade job killer, and the government takeover of health care. He sat back and let them dictate the terms, because he was too busy planning the destruction of the country---and oh yeah, his next vacation. The result is that all three policies have either been policy or political catastrophes, for him, his party, and the nation. No wonder he needs another vacay.
There's delegating responsibility---and then there's failure to lead.
The Bama has utterly failed the test of leadership so far.
But he's passed the vacation test with flying colors.
September 3, 2009
Disaster In The Polls For Obama
This week's polls are a disaster for President Obama. The Rasmussen poll has his approval dropping to 45 percent, after several weeks at 49 percent. The Zogby poll has it even lower -- at 42 percent.
Worse yet, he's losing his political base:
* People under 30 -- long a key element of his support -- give him no better than break-even ratings, with 41 percent approving and 41 percent disapproving of the job he's doing, according to Zogby.
* Only 75 percent of Democrats, who formerly have supported Obama strongly, now approve of his performance in office. Zogby reports that this represents a slide of more than 10 points over the summer.
* Even among blacks, only 74 percent approve of the job he's doing (also a drop of more than 10 points).
* Hispanics, who voted for him by a margin of more than 40 points, now break even (36-36) when rating his performance.
Independents, the key swing group in our politics, now deliver a sharply negative 37-50 verdict on Obama's job performance. The elderly also give him negative ratings by 42-51.
This poll-implosion leaves Obama with few good options.
He obviously can't get 60 votes in the Senate for his health-care proposals in their current form. No Republican will support them, and moderate Democrats aren't likely to vote with him.
If he tries to pass it with 50 votes, using so-called reconciliation procedures, he may also fail -- because he'd also lose the votes of less-moderate Democrats who'd quail at using parliamentary tricks to pass such a radical, unpopular program.
If Obama waters down his proposals to attract moderate support, he'd lose votes on the left -- perhaps more than he'd gain, at this point.
Yet the longer he takes to resolve this political problem, the more his ratings will slip -- diminishing his power to achieve anything. No president with support in the 30s would be able to push through a program like his health-care agenda.
It now looks like health-care reform will cripple the Obama presidency, as it did Bill Clinton's in 1993.
Of course, Clinton was able to move to the center and secure re-election in 1996. But can a true believer like Obama do the same? He's shown a willingness to move to the center on foreign policy, leaving troops in Iraq and adding them in Afghanistan. But on the domestic front, the only aread where he's been willing to embrace centrist positions is education.
At best, Obama will be months if not years recovering from this disaster. In the short term, he's likely to finish September wishing he'd stayed in Martha's Vineyard.
Worse yet, he's losing his political base:
* People under 30 -- long a key element of his support -- give him no better than break-even ratings, with 41 percent approving and 41 percent disapproving of the job he's doing, according to Zogby.
* Only 75 percent of Democrats, who formerly have supported Obama strongly, now approve of his performance in office. Zogby reports that this represents a slide of more than 10 points over the summer.
* Even among blacks, only 74 percent approve of the job he's doing (also a drop of more than 10 points).
* Hispanics, who voted for him by a margin of more than 40 points, now break even (36-36) when rating his performance.
Independents, the key swing group in our politics, now deliver a sharply negative 37-50 verdict on Obama's job performance. The elderly also give him negative ratings by 42-51.
This poll-implosion leaves Obama with few good options.
He obviously can't get 60 votes in the Senate for his health-care proposals in their current form. No Republican will support them, and moderate Democrats aren't likely to vote with him.
If he tries to pass it with 50 votes, using so-called reconciliation procedures, he may also fail -- because he'd also lose the votes of less-moderate Democrats who'd quail at using parliamentary tricks to pass such a radical, unpopular program.
If Obama waters down his proposals to attract moderate support, he'd lose votes on the left -- perhaps more than he'd gain, at this point.
Yet the longer he takes to resolve this political problem, the more his ratings will slip -- diminishing his power to achieve anything. No president with support in the 30s would be able to push through a program like his health-care agenda.
It now looks like health-care reform will cripple the Obama presidency, as it did Bill Clinton's in 1993.
Of course, Clinton was able to move to the center and secure re-election in 1996. But can a true believer like Obama do the same? He's shown a willingness to move to the center on foreign policy, leaving troops in Iraq and adding them in Afghanistan. But on the domestic front, the only aread where he's been willing to embrace centrist positions is education.
At best, Obama will be months if not years recovering from this disaster. In the short term, he's likely to finish September wishing he'd stayed in Martha's Vineyard.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
