Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
A stinging observation this morning from an unlikely source -- Time:
With the exception of core Obama Administration loyalists, most politically engaged elites have reached the same conclusions: the White House is in over its head, isolated, insular, arrogant and clueless about how to get along with or persuade members of Congress, the media, the business community or working-class voters. This view is held by Fox News pundits, executives and anchors at the major old-media outlets, reporters who cover the White House, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders and governors, many Democratic business people and lawyers who raised big money for Obama in 2008, and even some members of the Administration just beyond the inner circle.
I don't know to what extent this sweeping indictment is fully true -- but even if only partly true, it represents an enormous sea-change in the attitude of the "elites," who until now (Fox News pundits aside) have been front-and-center in lauding the Obama Administration’s “competence.” And the echo from 30+ years ago is unmistakable – it was not Republican opposition per se, but the loss of confidence and support among the “elites” that really began the unraveling of Jimmy Carter’s presidency (recall, for instance, the New York Times’ famous printed-by-mistake “More Mush from the Wimp” headline).
Take this, too, in conjunction with Peter Beinart’s column from a couple of weeks ago in which he asserted that Obama would assuredly not attempt any sort of Clintonian “triangulation” following Democratic losses in November. Again, I don’t know if this is true, but if so, is there any way for Obama to regain an aura of competence, even among friendly “elites,” without effectively coming to terms with a vastly more conservative Congress? If not, does this increase the likelihood of a primary challenge to Obama in 2012? Is there any mainstream Democrat who would plausibly take on the task of challenging the First Black President – especially in light of the fact that, historically, in-party challenges almost always fail and almost always doom the incumbent at the general election?
Fascinating questions all, and rich grounds for speculation – and a useful reminder that the November elections are merely Act I in the drama that will play out over the next few years.
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Jun '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
Look, the lefty elite will sell out our President long before we do. It is the nature of the entire movement of the left, "me first"..
We always say they stick by their people in tough times, which is true as long as the idealogy is intact. But Obama is a walking advertisement for conservatives, and that means he is a showcase of why their ideas don't work... So he is toast.
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But conservative elites are pretty good at selling out folks as well. Look at the disdain for the tea party...
May '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
I really didn't expect to see articles like this until after the election.
Aug '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
In November 1994, I was a 2L taking 1st Amendment with a very liberal professor. I thoroughly enjoyed him and his class. Class met Monday and Wednesday mornings. On the Wednesday following election day and the Republican takeover of Congress, he was visibly ill. I asked him, with a big smile on my face, why he looked so nauseous? He muttered something under his breath. The beauty of that day was that it was so unexpected and caught everyone off guard.
Now, with every additional poll and article touting coming Republican gains, I get a sick feeling because if Republicans fail to deliver, the sanctimonious tone after election day will be near unbearable.
Conservatives need to maintain a positive, yet realistic view of the coming elections and maintain an almost siege mentality. Elites may be losing faith in their current standard bearer but not in their ideology. It is the ideology conservatives must engage, attack and put into retreat.
Jun '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
This is just history repeating itself. "Leftist ideology--socialism or neosocialism--isn't the problem. No. It's the implementation that was flawed. Obama just wasn't up to it."
Edited on Oct 11, 2010 at 12:03pmAug '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
The elites ?
Those are all government workers.
Aug '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
The elites are exquisitely sensitive about their prestige and power, and can't stand to be associated with a loser. Just as the high school in-crowd would squirm if they believed they were no longer envied, but despised, so too is it in D.C.
As Jay Leno said, "Politics is show business for ugly people". And the Regime Media is show business for pseudo intellectuals; and Hollywood is high school with money.
'Twas ever thus!
More proof. Geprge Soros announced this morning in the NY Times that he won't be able to stop the Republican "avalanche". He's the master of mendacity, so I doubt that he won't try, but he's playing to the general feeling. Here's the link:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/soros-i-cant-stop-a-republican-avalanche/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
Steve: I read Mark Halperin's piece piece this morning as well, but I was wondering what Halperin considers himself to be if not a card-carrying member of the elite media. Moreover, after pointing out the elite's loss of confidence in Obama he proceeded to imply the loss was undeserved. It's not his extraordinarily destructive agenda that's failed, according to Halperin, but that he hasn't trumpeted his successes enough and has spent too much time demonizing Republicans. He also seems to believe that the only reason Obama is unpopular is jobs. Well, as I've stated elsewhere, I believe the Tea Party movement and Obama's unpopularity in general is about far more than "the economy stupid." It's about the assault on our liberties and the bankrupting of our nation and the undermining of our national security and the endless badmouthing of America. People are horrified they're losing the America they love, so "it's America stupid." (Apparently Halperin is so intoxicated on Obama's kool-aid that he believes, like Obama, that Obama just hasn't talked enough to the American people about the wonders of his agenda.) Unbelievable.
Edited on Oct 11, 2010 at 1:07pmJul '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
I find it endlessly amusing that our intellectual elite are finally starting to realize the things that the bitter-clingers and Fox-nuts have been saying from the beginning.
May '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
I think the revealing event was the anger expressed by Matthews, Carville, et al. over Obama's response to the Gulf oil spill. We learned that progressives' attacks on Bush during Catrina were not (or, at least were not completely) expressions of partisan opportunism. No, these guys really do believe in--hope for--a progressive Hero, a superman (an übermensch!) to swoop in and save us from ourselves. Repeatedly. Every day. Without restraints, checks, or balances.
Jul '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
The retreat from Obama will be hailed by the media as an example of how it reports the news even-handedly and without fear or favor. Pretty soon that will be accepted again as the truth by the masses who get their information spoon-fed to them by the alphabet networks and the remaining big city papers.
Jul '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
Correct. Consider, also, that right now said elites are comparing candidate Obama with President Obama, and finding the latter lacking. In two years these same elites will be comparing President Obama with a Republican contender, and will do a 180 on their opinion of the President.
In the meantime, they may as well build up some credibility.
Jul '10
Re: Are the Elites Starting to Lose Faith?
Much as with my comments on Gore Vidal, above, President Obama is more a collection of attitudes than a substantive leader. That works really well as a Chicago rabble rouser. It translates so poorly to the Presidency that even his ideological soulmates are starting to feel their stomachs turning.