Bait & Switch

Bait & Switch
Why is the Obama administration stumbling so badly after just a few weeks in office?  Some are even saying that the administration is imploding, but I think that’s a rush to judgment.  All new administrations have their challenges.  Several of President Bush’s appointees had to step aside when conflicts were uncovered.  Clinton’s immediate plunge into the troubled waters of homosexuals in the military turned out to be a bonehead decision that damaged his credibility.  All new administrations have to get their “sea legs” and this administration is no exception.
There is, however, one huge problem that may prove to be insurmountable for our new President.  As I write this, only 37% of the American people support the massive, pork laden bill that is euphemistically labeled a “stimulus package.”  On the other hand, Obama’s personal popularity remains relatively high, about that of any new president at this stage of the game.  The American people are good natured and generous.  They want their president to succeed, but that does not mean they embrace policies that they see destructive to the economic well-being of the nation.
The President’s problem is not just the ill-conceived trillion dollar “stimulus” package.  It’s a far greater problem.  Democrats have learned that they cannot run for office as Mondale did, promising to raise taxes.  That’s not something that will ever be popular with the vast majority of the American people.  They also know they cannot successfully run for President as soft on terrorism.  And they did an about face, and now proclaim themselves as supporters of the Second Amendment.  Obama even publicly opposed another third rail of politics, gay marriage. 
In short, Barack Obama ran on a platform that called for tax cuts, eliminating wasteful spending, against gay marriage, support for Israel, against re-imposition of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” against gun control, for secure borders, for defeat of the terrorists, and support for American servicemen and women.  That’s a platform that Ronald Reagan could have run on.

And therein lies the rub.   While Obama genuflected to the far-left on pet issues like water boarding, closing Guantanamo, and their other anti-Bush rants, he was careful to steer a course that was, with few exceptions, pretty much down the middle.  He ran for the cover the mainstream media provided on his far-left affiliations with domestic terrorists Bernadine Dorn and hubby, Bill Ayres, as well as his 22 year plus affiliation with the far-left preacher from South Side Chicago, Jeremiah Wright.

Obama’s campaign message was as non-specific as possible—he was for hope, change and the future.  It’s hard to disagree with those things, especially when we don’t know what kind of hope, change, or future he plans to work toward.

But now, the rubber hits the road.  It’s one thing to run as a mainstream, middle-of-the road candidate, but it is something entirely else to govern from a clearly leftwing position.

What a pickle!  Obama did a wonderful job (with great help from the mainstream media) selling himself to the American people as a mainstream candidate, but now the bill comes due from radical groups like moveon.org and ACORN who supplied the ground forces in his campaign.

It’s a bait and switch operation that will most surely fail.  If he tries to govern from the center, his leftwing allies will drop him like a fish that’s been dead for a week.  The head of the NAACP is already threatening that they will oppose him if he does toe their line.  If he moves to the left, he’ll quickly lose the support of the American people.  The current opposition to the massive spending bill is just the tip of the iceberg.

The self-delusion of a mandate, coupled with a far-left philosophy, is a recipe for a political shipwreck.  And he’s not getting any help from his Democratic leadership in Congress.  Ron Dellums wants to hold kangaroo court on George Bush as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.  The far-left Congressman from Oakland has already subpoenaed Karl Rove and that’s just the beginning.  Another Congressman has already introduced a bill to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine.

The American people are indeed kind-hearted and generous, but, their good-will and support will dissipate quickly if the new President starts down the path to socialism.  No amount of mainstream media cover will protect him from himself.  Bait and switch always fails, whether in advertising or in politics.  The public is quickly turned off by false advertising.  They not only refuse to buy the product, they become angry that they were deceived in the first place. 

Much was made of the low popularity rating of President Bush (although the rating of the Democratic Congress was substantially lower), but this is indeed a honeymoon for President Obama.  Right now he is squandering opportunities to show the American people that they made the right decision.

If he continues on the current course, his presidency is going to
look a lot more like Jimmy Carter’s, than FDR’s.  No wonder the tiny Republican minority is already reinvigorated and licking its chops.  No wonder the Conservative Movement is expanding rapidly.  No wonder the audience of talk radio is exploding. 
No matter what happens, it’s certainly going to be a wild ride.  We’d better buckle up!