Yesterday FOUAD AJAMI had a blistering critique in the Wall Street Journal of the Obama Era. The Op-ed titled “The Obsolescence of Barack Obama” details why aura of Obama is forever shattered.
Not long ago Barack Obama, for those who were spellbound by him, had the stylishness of JFK and the historic mission of FDR riding to the nation's rescue. Now it is to Lyndon B. Johnson's unhappy presidency that Democratic strategist Robert Shrum compares the stewardship of Mr. Obama. Johnson, wrote Mr. Shrum in the Week magazine last month, never "sustained an emotional link with the American people" and chose to escalate a war that "forced his abdication as president."
A broken link with the public, and a war in Afghanistan he neither embraces and sells to his party nor abandons—this is a time of puzzlement for President Obama. His fall from political grace has been as swift as his rise a handful of years ago. He had been hot political property in 2006 and, of course, in 2008. But now he will campaign for his party's 2010 candidates from afar, holding fund raisers but not hitting the campaign trail in most of the contested races. Those mass rallies of Obama frenzy are surely of the past. [Read the whole thing]
Ajami’s observations come at a time when the latest polls confirm his observations.
- Rasmussen: Obama at his lowest approval index.
- Wall Street Journal/ NBC News Poll: Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the economy has yet to hit bottom.
- Gallup: Obama has majority approval for only 1 out of 13 issues.
For those of us who did not vote for Obama none of this is coming as a surprise. A man, any man, with such a paper thin resume stood little chance of living up to the hype of Hope and Change. Those who swallowed the hype are now coming to grips with the reality that Obama is no messiah.
As you read Ajami column, I caution you not to mistake this for the end of Obama presidency or that his fate is sealed for 2012. Obama has two years on the clock and in politics two years might as well be two millennia, anything can happen. Instead, understand that the carefully crafted persona of Obama as lightbringer, messiah, or Superman is now officially dead for almost all Americans. The great Hope and Change that came in like a lion has now gone out like a scam.
UPDATE: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown
Nile Gardnier from the UK Telegraph has a column up today that pretty much sums up the Obama presidency thus far.
There are an array of reasons behind the stunning decline and political fall of President Obama, chief among them fears over the current state of the US economy, with widespread concern over high levels of unemployment, the unstable housing market, and above all the towering budget deficit. Americans are increasingly rejecting President Obama’s big government solutions to America’s economic woes, which many fear will lead to the United States sharing the same fate as Greece.
Growing disillusionment with the Obama administration’s handling of the economy as well as health care and immigration has gone hand in hand with mounting unhappiness with the President’s aloof and imperial style of leadership, and a growing perception that he is out of touch with ordinary Americans, especially at a time of significant economic pain. Barack Obama’s striking absence of natural leadership ability (and blatant lack of experience) has played a big part in undermining his credibility with the US public, with his lacklustre handling of the Gulf oil spill coming under particularly intense fire.
On the national security and foreign policy front, President Obama has not fared any better. His leadership on the war in Afghanistan has been confused and at times lacking in conviction, and seemingly dictated by domestic political priorities rather than military and strategic goals. His overall foreign policy has been an appalling mess, with his flawed strategy of engagement of hostile regimes spectacularly backfiring. And as for the War on Terror, his administration has not even acknowledged it is fighting one.
Read through the ten reasons and file them away. After the Democrats receive their November beatdown from the public, the ten reasons Gardnier labels today will be the same things openly discussed in the US media after November.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: Rasmussen Reports
Via: Wall Street Journal
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1 comment:
Every time I hear about Obama these days, I automatically think about that movie, The Second Civil War.
As to the facade he presented during his campaign that has rapidly fallen away these past months, one line from the film sums it up (paraphrasing): Americans vote for the sizzle, not the steak. It's only after the fact, they have to bit into the gristle and fat.
Seriously, if you've never seen that movie before, I highly recommend it. It's Barack Obama, to a "T."
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