Obama Is Out of Gas
Like Pat Sajak and Steve Manacek, I skipped the State of the Union Address last night. With a colleague, I am co-teaching a course entitled Shakespeare: History, Politics, and Poetry, and last night we screened the BBC production of Coriolanus – which, to judge from the commentary I read, was a whole lot more interesting than the President’s speech.
The speech itself I ran off this morning. I cannot comment on the President’s delivery. What I can report is that what he said is not a game-changer. Moreover, it had no memorable lines. In fact, there was nothing in it – no sign that Barack Obama intends to change course, no stirring defense of what he has done, not one word concerning global warming, no plan to combat unemployment, and no acknowledgement that the deficits produced by his and our profligacy are unsustainable. It is almost as if he abdicated.
He was, of course, disingenuous. Last week, he described abortion – for which parental permission is not required – as a private family matter. This week, he presented proposed increases in federal expenditures as investments, and what he is arguing for would best be described as crony capitalism. When aging radical Robert Scheer called the speech “platitudinous hogwash,” he spoke the truth.
What this means is, I believe, that the age of Obama is over. It lasted all of two years. There will, of course, be events, and, at least in the foreign sphere, the President may respond. Moreover, within the executive branch, behind closed doors, he and his minions will vigorously pursue a vast expansion of the administrative state. But, in public, Barack Obama will be passive-aggressive. He will initiate next to nothing, and he will do what he can to prevent Congress from doing much of anything. The man whom we will see most often is the fellow who snarled as he agreed to an extension of the Bush tax cuts. It will not be a pretty picture. He will be bored, he will be angry, and he will pout.
This is good news for the Republican Party and bad news for the country. Economically, we are not out of the woods. As I pointed out in an earlier post, there are storm clouds on the horizon. House prices continue to fall, and there is every reason to believe that they still have a long way to go. That will occasion more foreclosures. States – such as Illinois, New York, and California – are going to have to cut their budgets dramatically. In 2012, the unemployment rate and, even more to the point, the underemployment rate will still be very high. There are also indications that we may be in for a bout of inflation. And meanwhile the deficit is a ticking time bomb. We could very easily be worse off in 2012 than we are now. Moreover, if Obamacare is neither repealed nor declared unconstitutional in the interim, President Obama will be in deep political trouble when the Democratic nominating convention meets that summer. He will, I believe, be remembered as the Herbert Hoover of the twenty-first century.
All that it takes is consistency on the part of the Republicans and a low-key approach. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Paul Ryan should speak sweet reason, and they should guide through the House in increments a program that, if accepted, would actually turn the country around. They should always be good-humored. They should avoid histrionics. In battling No Drama Obama, one should avoid drama oneself. The point of the exercise should be to force through what one can and, otherwise, to put the Democrats in the Senate and the President on the spot time and again – while demonstrating that the Republican Party is a party of principle well-suited to getting the country out of the crisis that it is in. Then, if that party can break from its propensity for nominating for the Presidency one of the living dead and if it can find a man or woman of principle, quiet eloquence, and determination to lead, we can roll back the administrative state, pare entitlements, reform the tax structure, balance the budget, provide properly for the national defense, and reinvigorate the economy.
There really is reason for hope. The other side has had a free hand to show what it can do. It has tried, and it has failed ignominiously. And it has about its shoulders an albatross. “Unhand me, greybeard loon.” How is that for a campaign slogan?
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
The speech was a classic (and Clintonian) "this, but also that" speech. Such a speech can never be great.
Contrast this to Paul Ryan's response, which was a classic "this, period" speech. Excellent effort, especially considering the typically no-win nature of the thing. He's going to deliver some game-changers before he's through.
Sep '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
Next to last paragraph, priceless!
May '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
Paul A. Rahe:
All that it takes is consistency on the part of the Republicans and a low-key approach. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Paul Ryan should speak sweet reason, and they should guide through the House in increments a program that, if accepted, would actually turn the country around. They should always be good-humored. They should avoid histrionics. In battling No Drama Obama, one should avoid drama oneself.
Agreed. Republicans need to be quietly bold. Keep the rhetoric calm and practical while gutting the government's checkbook and making Obama defend his resistance to popular initiatives like education reform. They must remain active and assertive or they will find themselves on defense (as usual) and lose votes.
Paul A. Rahe:
What this means is, I believe, that the age of Obama is over.
I wish I could agree with you on this as well.
You're correct that Obama will continue to be petty in his public relations. But there's oh so much damage he can and will continue to do via executive management and foreign blunders. Nothing will surpass the horrible form or process of Obamacare, but more horrors await.
Dec '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
The irony is that if Obamacare is still in force by the DNC convention in 2012, Obama will probably be immune to a serious challenge for his party's nomination. The Left will rally behind him in hopes of defending his namesake signature achievement, and the Center -- oh, I forgot, there is no more Center in the Democratic Party.
Edited on Jan 26, 2011 at 6:29pmSep '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
Obama is now playing the role of Gingrich in 1995 who could never avoid the limelight and he's too much of a swelled head to keep quiet, so if the Repubs play it right and they field a Calvin Coolidge style ticket, Obama will end up doing the Foghorn Leghorn.
Sorry to type fast, but that's my view of it from a Looney Tunes perspective.
Oct '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
Paul A. Rahe:
All that it takes is consistency on the part of the Republicans and a low-key approach. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Paul Ryan should speak sweet reason, and they should guide through the House in increments a program that, if accepted, would actually turn the country around. They should always be good-humored. They should avoid histrionics. In battling No Drama Obama, one should avoid drama oneself. The point of the exercise should be to force through what one can and, otherwise, to put the Democrats in the Senate and the President on the spot time and again – while demonstrating that the Republican Party is a party of principle well-suited to getting the country out of the crisis that it is in.
Since November, it has seemed that this was going to be a long tennis match. On the left side of the court is the heavy favorite with long flowing mane, endorsement deals, and flashy style. His opponent is relatively bland, strong in fundamentals, and starting to come into a wicked serve of his own. And this is the player with the ball and advantage. Just keep serving bills/repeals to make them react.
Nov '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
But this is the real problem. Sure, in public, Obama will tack to the center, ask for civility and all that, but there's just no end to the expansion of the bureaucracy that he can accomplish behind the scenes.
The most powerful arrow in the socialist quiver is the ever-expanding bureaucratic beast. Once new bureaucrats are in place, it's next to impossible to get rid of them.
And the havoc they can cause is truly terrible. Are you familiar with what's going on over at the EPA? I rest my case.
Sep '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
Another thing they have to do, I believe, is keep it secular. If there is too much religiosity in the narrative independents will turn off and away, no matter how good the substance. It probably shouldn't be that way, but it really really is, in the main.
Edited on Jan 26, 2011 at 7:30pmDec '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
Casey Way
Since November, it has seemed that this was going to be a long tennis match. On the left side of the court is the heavy favorite with long flowing mane, endorsement deals, and flashy style. His opponent is relatively bland, strong in fundamentals, and starting to come into a wicked serve of his own. And this is the player with the ball and advantage. Just keep serving bills/repeals to make them react. · Jan 26 at 6:47pm
You can NOT be SERIOUS!
What you have to do against a guy like Obama is use Judo. One thing that struck me was that I was hearing a recollection of a liberal talking about how Obama isn't all that interested in, say, feeding the poor, but when it comes to getting at the rich, then he gets animated.
He seems driven by revenge and by conflict. He wants to fight. For instance, I think the seating arrangement at the SOTU deflated him. He wanted a side of the aisle to focus his anger on, I believe.
Dec '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
I know liberal-progressive Democrats like President Obama have to talk like a conservative when on national TV, but it really doesn't become them. I know the reason they do this: liberalism, when spoken out-loud and in clear, unmistakable terms, turns Americans off faster than Helen Thomas in a two-piece swimsuit.
I wish someone could tap the president on the shoulder after a speech like that and ask, "Doesn't it make even just a little bit of sense that if your handlers tell you that you have to talk about promoting business and entrepreneurship to scratch Americans where they itch that, perhaps, it may be the right thing to embrace policies that actually promote those thing?"
Jul '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
Sorry, I'm with Michele Bachmann on the assigned seats. She said no go and sat with Tea Party on both sides. (After their nice speech, the rest of Congress retired to the cafeteria where they baked cookies in their easy bake ovens. Yes, it is a whole new Congress. Yippee.)
Jun '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
In the spring our nation's refineries will shut down for a few weeks so they can make the switch to summer blend gasoline. This is a seasonal adjustment required by EPA rules and regs. It will cause a short term spike in the cost of gas at the pump. Happens every year. The president will play the corporate greed card, of course. It's what his party always does. Republicans need to make the case, loud and often, that rising gasoline prices are the result of government policy. If anything can sink an administration, it's $4 gasoline at the pump. Seems mundane, but it hits every American where it hurts. We've seen the scenario once already (twice if you remember Carter). Republicans need to anticipate and prepare.
Sep '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
I couldn't agree with this more. Out of gas is exactly what we are experiencing with Obama and he's running on fumes. I didn't listen to the speech either, preferring to miss the president's attitude, the pomp, the press narratives and petty interests, and the D&R handholding kumbayah theater.
Obama has spent all of his rhetorical capital, Even if his speechwriters had crafted some memorable phrases, who would take up the cause and rally behind him? We are the people we have been waiting for? ...No that doesn't work. Any mention of Hope reminds us that we now need even more of it than in 2008. Mentioning Change just energizes the new majority that now wants it. Yes we can! Seems to be a petulant assertion coming from someone who obviously can't.
After a day we have the takeaway from the speech - Sputnik.
Sputnik. America's Sputnik moment...my god....
Sep '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
“demonstrating that the Republican party is a party of principle”
Don’t you mean” changing into” or “making it appear as if”. Unfortunately McConnell and Boehner are “beltway blowhards” who have long ago exchanged principle for political power. Of the ones you mentioned; Ryan is the only one I would feel comfortable using the term principled to describe. I would note in the recent tax bill the GOP bartered a 2 year, temporary income tax extension for higher earners for $500 B. of deficit spending. They did this while saying the deficit was the number one problem the country faced. This demonstrates once again the Republican Party is much closer to a party of prostitution rather than a party of principle! Their quick agreement and unwillingness to fight is a clear sign that they prefer the appearance of political victory over principle.
May '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
You're right. Coriolanus has to be more interesting. That's some seriously early Roman history. How close is it to the Livy version of events? I assume Shakespeare had Livy upon which to draw.
Jul '10
Re: Obama Is Out of Gas
I endorse this message, as does the board of the ACME Rocket-Powered Products Corporation.
Now if we can just make Obama sputter like Daffy Duck in the next session.