W: Obama's Fatal Fixation
"They have not come up with a single, solitary, new idea to address the challenges of the American people. They don’t have a single idea that’s different from George Bush’s ideas — not one," - president Obama, getting feisty.
Dems have tried repeatedly to tie the GOP to Bush’s economic policies, which remain highly unpopular. But so far, that hasn’t worked, according to officials at the Dem-leaning Third Way think tank.
“Just eighteen months after President Bush left office with the nation’s economy in historic freefall, two-thirds of Americans now see congressional Republicans and their economic ideas as new and completely separate from those of the former president,” the group wrote in a strategy memo sent to Dem leaders last month. -- Reid Wilson
It is time someone disabuse the President of his impression that the best way to challenge Republicans is by tying them to George W. Bush. Yes, Mr. Obama -- Republicans, like W., are Republican. But the notion that "they" want a replay of the Bush administration, because they have no other concept of how to govern, isn't just risible and patently false on its face. It's positively laughable. And when a President gets fiesty, he doesn't want to be laughable.
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Jun '10
Re: W: Obama's Fatal Fixation
Hmmmm....the Bush years...back when I had a good job, and my house was worth something? Yeah, those were horrible.
May '10
Re: W: Obama's Fatal Fixation
I hope the Republicans notice that the President has invited, actually challenged, them to engage in a public debate over ideas and vision for the country. Normally a President is careful to hold on to the advantage he holds as the chief executive. He can present his plan and ideas from the "bully pulpit", set above and apart from political opponents. Obama is uncomfortable on the lofty perch, and has opened the door for others to come forward with their opposing views.
He's elevated his opponents to his own level, or perhaps stepped down to theirs. The Republicans would be foolish to lose this opportunity to respond.
Aug '10
Re: W: Obama's Fatal Fixation
Let me dissent.
It's a form of popular political rhetoric not a description of reality (BHO obviously knows neither he in 2012 nor any Dem today is really running against His Dub-ness). And, judged as rhetoric, it is smart. The Bush presidency is widely perceived (whether rightly or wrongly) as a disaster, and thus something you want to tie your political opponents to.
And since so much of political identity and perception is based on one's formative years, the more you can remind people of a bad president, move it by way of reinforcement from short-term to long-term memory as it were, the more you can cement an identity -- a political analogue to long-term investment.
After all, Republicans ran against Jimmy Carter for 20 years and Democrats against Herbert Hoover for longer than that.
Jun '10
Re: W: Obama's Fatal Fixation
I know a lot of people alive today have no firsthand experience of the Carter years, but they were genuinely painful. It's not just myth. By 1980, inflation was over 13% and unemployment was 7%, and that's 7% without as many safety nets as exist today. As for Bush, note that between 2004 and 2007, the deficit was actually getting smaller, not larger. The problem at the end of Bush's term was that the weak foundation of our over-hyped over-inflated real estate market, finally crumbled. I dare say that would've happened no matter who was President, but deserve it or not, Presidents take both the credit and the blame. Carter and Bush both. But, a year after they're gone, they also stop getting the blame.
Re: Bush
Budget 2011: Past Deficits vs. Obama’s Deficits in Pictures
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/02/05/past-deficits-vs-obamas-deficits-in-pictures/
May '10
Re: W: Obama's Fatal Fixation
Continuing to harp on Bush would probably still work with a notable portion of the electorate, if Obama's presidency to this point could be described as "middling" instead of "catastrophic." Even assuming we didn't have short attention spans, Obama has demonstrated that a centrist Republican is nothing to fear compared to a devoted leftist.
As it stands, between the UAW pep rallies and the friendly conversations with Joy Behar - whose name I can scarcely type without shuddering - Obama is preaching to a shrinking choir.