Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.
A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama's inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to "even fake an interest in foreign policy".
The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda.Count me among those who prefer for the President to focus on solving our economic problems, even if doing so means letting diplomatic protocol fall by the wayside. Still, Obama wanted the world's toughest job, and now he must do it.
"That was the gamble these guys made at the front end of this presidency and I think they're finding it a hard thing to do everything."
The Obama story, like the Bush story, may go down in the history books as a warning: This is what occurs when charismatic men seek high office not to enact a political agenda but to work out a purely personal drama. I suppose that sitting in the oval office must provide marvelous therapy to insecure individuals who otherwise might not feel good about themselves. But the job entails more. One must govern.
Who forecast Hell? At Corrente, connecticut man1 offers an intriguing clue that our current economic mess was foreseen years before the reeking brown hit the rotating blades. The 2005 bankruptcy bill made sure that the folks who hold derivatives were granted special privileges in bankruptcy proceedings. As cm1 notes: "Legislation like that doesn't just come out of nowhere."
They could have solved many of these problems years ago and mitigated some of the disastrous results but, instead, they purposefully let it build while protecting themselves and waited for just the right time to unleash the "crisis" on the nation, knowing it would tie the hands of the next administration financially.I disagree with cm1's view that Americans have stopped trusting Republicans with their money. Any such mistrust is temporary and will soon be supplanted by the "Obama caused the stock market crash" meme. The Democrats want Obi to be the next FDR. The GOP wants him to go down in history as the Democrats' Hoover.
IOW: They did manage to drown the government in a Katrina sized bath tub.
The GOP position will win out. Republicans know that repetition can make a lie seem true, especially to people living in fear -- and there will be fear a-plenty once the unemployment benefits run out. Remember the "Saddam caused 9/11" hoax? The majority of Americans believed that, didn't they? Heck, the Republicans could convince half the country that my dog is the demon Asmodeus. All they need do is employ the simple tactic of repeating an absurd claim a few million times.
Excerpt from an American history textbook to be published in 2020:
Barack Obama, having fortuitously spoken out against the Iraq invasion before it began, swept into office after the public had turned against the seemingly intractable conflict. Soon after winning the presidency, his once formidable popularity plummeted due to a plunging stock market and soaring unemployment.A fair assessment? Of course not. The stock plunge and job losses were set in motion by George W. Bush and his merry band of deregulators, not by the election of Barack Obama. Anyone who blames Obama is engaging in post hoc ergo propter hoc illogic.
Alas, history is written by the winners. Obama may have won in November of 2008, but I doubt that he will win many of the battles ahead. Eventually, the citizenry will -- quite unfairly -- blame him and not his predecessor.
Now you know why I sigh every time I read one of those "the GOP is so over" stories. I tire of playing chess against people who see only two moves ahead.
Nationalization: Krugman offers a short, brilliant summary of the argument for...
The benefits from nationalization come from (a) giving taxpayers a share of the upside rather than just a share of the downside, which is where we are now (b) ending the gaming of the system, even looting, that is encouraged by the current system of implicit guarantees (Simon Johnson has been very good on that) (c) making it politically and fiscally feasible to put in enough capital to revitalize the system. These advantages are there whatever you decide to do with junior bank debt.Obama will lose the battle for history because he is spending an awful lot of borrowed money without taking the necessary course of action.
(Update: Did Obama, in an interview with the NYT, offer a subtle jab at Krugman? Not directly, but, yes, the poke was there.)
13 comments:
"The GOP wants him to go down in history as the Democrats' Hoover."
I have been saying that since right after the election in November. Dems and O are so dumb.
Well, the stimulus money is flowing now so we will know soon if it works. I am sure they already plan for a second stimulus bill.
Obama has never actually held a full time job, since, possibly, the Voter Reg drive when he got out of college. The Illinois State Senate met a whopping 55 days a year when he was a state legislator. At the University, he famously lectured but wasn't required to have office hours and there are no stories of him helping students on his time. He was a part timer over at the law firm as well and never once led on a single case.
In addition, he has never in his life identified a problem that was plaguing the more challenged amongst us, developed a workable, achievable solution and used his considerable resources to see it through to completion. He doesn't actually have any idea how to get stuff done, because he has never bothered to do anything.
I know, Joseph, that you do projects so you know what I'm talking about. There are immensely talented people who cannot deliver because they don't have the self-discipline to simply get stuff done. And Obama, judging by the total lack of accomplishment in his life, has never developed the self-discipline to start and finish a project. I'm sure he's surprised at the volume of work because he's never had to work before. He's Bush's third term with a better cabinet.
BTW, did you know he's going to Europe later this month? What an asshole.
Should I point out once again that the GOP spent virtually no money opposing him? McCain took public financing and the GOP 527s spent a paltry $27 million opposing him. It's the cheapest election they've had in decades and they got out of it with no debt and money in the bank. And people think they're on the ropes. I think they're exactly where they want to be with a pusillanimous Democratic sucker who wants to be all things to all people in the White House. We're fucked for the next eight years.
Regarding the "Obama is tired" story, I find it curious that we haven't seen any pushback or denials from the Obama campaign. The Kool-aid blogs completely ignored the story which is highly unusual - they are usually very agressive in attacking a negative story about Obama.
As far as the "Republican party is dead" meme, anyone who believes that is ignorant of history.
Only one time since 1900 have the Democrats held the White House more than eight consecutive years, and that was under FDR and HST. And just a few years ago the GOP was talking about a "permanent Republican majority"
Obama disses Krugman as simpleton in his NYT interview
Lori~
Recall that he didn't even manage to accomplish the task of writing 'Dreams' the first time out. He was paid advance money, but he didn't get it done. His friend then found him another publisher.
I know Obama is not responsible for the economic mess, but he promised to work and make it better. That's his job, and if he fails, then I will see him as a failure. Now that we see what happens with a deregulated financial system, we recognize FDR's true legacy: a stable financial system. Hoover failed because he did not create a better environment for businesses to succeed.
"Yeah, sure. And right after I tried telling bankers what to do you'd probably expect me to start giving orders to the military. I remember what happened to another guy that tried that."
For a while, I thought that Obama might be power mad. Now, though, it seems to me that his real motivation, what really floats his boat, is fame and adulation. Obama was ambitious, yes, but not in the sense of wanting to do anything with the power he achieved. I don't even think that Obama particularly revels in power for its own sake, a la LBJ or Nixon. There is no particular policy he wants enacted. There aren't even any scores that he wants settled. He wants people to worship him. To cheer his speeches. To chant his name. He wants women to desire him and men to envy him. He is narcissism incarnate.
Look at the email exchange publisehd on this blog. Obama was only engaged when endlessly rehashing his allegedly unique, inspiring life story. When the talk swithched over to policy, or even politics, Obama was bored.
Look at some of the overlooked details of that oft-told life story. Obama makes a big fuss about his supposed basketball prowess. But he didn't even start, not even as a senior, on his high school team. He was a guy who had less talent than he thought, and who, when he did get to play, was more about "jocking it up" from downtown than passing the ball to an open teammate. Other than that, the only thing his teammates remember about him is that he started a big argument with the coach for not playing the second stringers (ie himself) more often.
Then there is Occidental College. While there, Obama claims to have hung out with the "outsiders,"a claim transparently designed to deflect attention from the fact that he was attending an institution known for being a harbor for rich, relatively smart, but lazy students. And the only real data we have is from a professor who remembers Obama because he disagreed with the grade he was given, and kept harassing the prof to change it. As with his high school b-ball coach, Obama was a low performer who wanted high rewards. He wouldn't work at being a better student, just like he wouldn't work at being a better player. He wanted the praise that comes with excellence without working for it.
The one thing he apparently was good at was making himself popular. At Harvard Law, he sucked up to Lawrence Tribe and some of the other big names. But, again, if you really look at it, what did he really do there? He is only barely mentioned, if at all, in the credits to the articles on which, as a student resercher, he is now said to have been so brilliant. He was Editor in Chief of the Law Review, yes, but what many people don't realize is that that is an elective posiition, not one based on grades or writing ability. He convinced his fellow editors to vote for him. Just like he convinced "Uncle Larry" and some of the other big wigs that he was something special. Just as he tried, and failed, to talk his way onto the basketball court in high school and into a better grade at Occidental. But once elected, he wrote nothing for the publication, which is very unusual.
Again, fame and success without work was Obama's goal. Again, he made an attempt (this time succesful) to use charm, looks, personal appeal, whatever one wants to call it, as a stand-in for real achievement.
And, in general, for all of his Ivy League credentials and all of the well leaked lists of books that he has supposedly read, Obama seems to lack real intellectual curiosity. One would think that a guy who majored in poli sci and minored in international relations, and went to law school, would be well versed in US politics, political history, geopolitics, etc. Yet Obama doesn't know when the March on Selma occured. He doesn't know that it was the Red Army, not his uncle in Patton's Third Army, that liberated Auschwitz. His references to Lincoln, FDR, the Kennedys, and even Reagan seem perfunctory and superficial. The reason for this, I submit, is that it would take some work on his part to read the, at most, maybe 15or 20 books that he would need to even be able to fake this kind of knowledge. Why would Obama want to read books like that when he can just give his stock, stump speech about how "special" he is over and over?
And so it goes in Obama's professional life. As a lawyer, he never worked hard, won no big cases and set no important precedents. As a "law professor," he wrote no academic books or even articles. As a State and US Senator, he has no record of legistlative achievement to point to. Even his celebrated stint as a "community organizer" ended, according to Obama himseld, without any real successes. Same with the Annenburg challenge. A lot of money spent. A lot of publicity for Obama, but no real accomplishment.
OK. Obama did "lead" a succesful voter registration drive. But,even there, he really was only a figue head. And, when you think about it, isn't every VRD a "succesful" one? People register to vote all the time, drive or no drive (becaue they turn 18, or move into an area, or just decide to do so), and the "drive" takes credit for all those "new voters." In addition, the community in which the drive took place was known to have many, many unregistered African American voters and there was an African American candidate for the Senate (Mosely-Brown) running that year. And the drive was very well-funded, as well. It was more like Obama was given the credit for something that was bound to succeed than that he overcame any obstacles and made something work through his own efforts.
No, what Obama mostly did before he became president was talk, and write, about himself. He loves to talk about his life story. He loves to romanticize it, pretending that he comes from poverty (he doesn't--his grandmother was a bank vice president and his grandfather was a successful salesman) and deprivation (again, not true, both of his parents were, like him, post graduate students at Harvard). He is totally faking the racial thing, and the Christian thing--but that's too big a story to go into here.
Still, he writes two books about this mostly mythological life story, and gives the same speech about it over and over. He gives it at the Democratic Convention in 2004 and his fame becomes national. Again, it's write a book or give a speech so that people will love him. It's not about working hard so that people might love you for what you have achieved for them, or the district, the State, or the country. No, it's "love me just for being me."
Even his campaign followed the same pattern. Obama openly complained that the nomination contest was taking too long for his comfort--outrageously comparing it to, of all things, the Bataan Death March. He said it was "tiring" having to stand and talk to factory workers going in for the night shift. He said he would rather just eat his waffle than talk to to voters at the classic campaign diner stop. The "57" states he had to campaign seemed like 55 too many to him, as he thought he deserved to win the whole thing in New Hampshire. He refused to learn any of the details about policy. In the debates, if he followed Hillary, he would just say he agreed with her answer. If he had to answer first, he stuttered and stammered like. . . well, like what he was, an unprepared schoolboy called on in class. And he did just as badly at unscripted press conferences or when dealing with voters one on one. Whenever his supporters were pressed on his seeming lack of substantive policy knowledge, they said "go look at the website," as if the work of others, who wrote its contents, could make up for Obama's own lack of expertise. Obama gave the same, rah-rah speech over and over at carefully orchestrated mass rallies. Even the slogans used ad nausium at those rallies (Yes we can, hope, we are the change. . ., etc) were recycled from previous campaingns and movements.
No effort to master new and challenging materials. Just relying on force of personality, good looks, superficial charm, the phony life story and even more phony "racial healing" it supposedly embodied. In other words, relying on talk, on words, and empty words at that, to stand in for work. That, and a well-funded, astro-turfed to look like grass roots but actually expertly and professionaly run political machine, to lie, cheat, steal, smear, race bait, and disenfranchize his way to the top.
And, it is now apparent, this essential laziness carried over into Obama's time as President Elect. Obama knew he would win at least by October. At any rate, he had from November 4 to January 20 to get his shit together. But what did he do? Nothing, it seems. No spending bill written, no plan for dealing with the banks, no clue on foreign policy. And, it's not like all of these things took Obama by surprize. These issues were all out there, looming, while Obama was on TV every night looking slick in his Armani suit and mouthing his platitudes.
I'm not talking about some of his appointees having skeletons in the closet--that happens to every new Administration. I'm talking about having no plans in place, no agenda, no "100 days" or anything like it that he wanted to achieve during the precious "honeymoon" period.
And, now we see, finally, that this continues to be Obama's deal as president. Already, he's "tired." Too tired to deal correctly with the PM of Great Britain. He's still making nice speeches, but has no clue about policy, foreign or domestic.
I think, maybe, that when Obama decided for sure to throw his hat in the ring this go-around, probably in 2006, he thought things would be easy. Like when Bill Clinton took office. That he would wind down the war in Iraq which was already unpopular, and then just coast by on everything else. The economy would be doing well (he thought) and people would be satisfied with his little "government tranparency" initiatives and so forth.
Where Bush liked being the "Decider Guy" I think Obama envisioned himself as the "Presider Guy." He would preside over a government, and a ship of state, that was doing pretty well and didn't need much in the way of hands-on control. In other words, he wouldn't have to work too hard, and could slide by on his looks, his charm, etc. and most of all, his fine and fancy words, just like he had always done.
Now he's facing a possible re-run of the Great Depression and any number of foreign policy problems and he's realizing, for the first time, that he is a president manque without a clue as to how to proceed. It's final exam time and Obama didn't do the required reading. And it's not the kind of test you can BS your way through. . .
Great post, Joseph, but I would amend it slightly: "...his once formidable popularity plummeted due to a plunging stock market, soaring unemployment and his failure to extract our military from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq..."
djmm
I've been lurking here at C'fire for some time and finally decided to speak up just this once, to say: you really, really nailed it, ruddyturnstone. What a spot on timeline analysis of the rise of the Empty Emperor Obama. Thank you for posting this.
You nailed it, ruddyturnstone.
Obama has spent his life campaigning for something or other and never working for anything.
I know people make a big "to-do" about granny being a bank v.p., but really, in Hawaii,the v.p. title is handed out to everyone and her sister. It's their way of paying salary,not hourly wages and working the h*ll out of you. Been there,done that.
But being president is HARD WORK, I tells ya!
Excellent post, ruddyturnstone, I have long suspected all of this about Obama but you really fleshed it out well.
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