Only two weeks into the new administration, Obamamania has hit choppy seas indeed on the ethics, legislative, security, diplomacy, and disaster-response fronts. Even the most cynical right-winger would have expected a 3-6 month honeymoon for The One- but alas, this was not to be the case.
As his cabinet-appointment process limps along from disaster-to-disaster, the MSM still speaks of a "vaunted vetting process"... as in "here's an exception to...". But how many mulligans does he get? Obama came to the Oval Office with grand pronouncements of a "change" from the lobbyist infested, shady-backroom-deal Washington of the past. Sadly, it is already apparent that reality will fall far, far short of the enchanting rhetoric on 2008.
Commerce nominee Bill Richardson was already under federal investigation when nominated... and eventually withdrew himself from consideration. Afterwards, damage-control spin from Team Obama claimed that they "had pressed" Richardson for more information regarding the ongoing probe... but why proceed with the appointment if you weren't satisfied with his response? AG-designate Eric Holder helped to pardon FBI fugitive Marc Rich, a major Clinton campaign donor, in 2001. Recently confirmed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner still cannot sufficiently explain why he avoided paying Social Security taxes and took illegal deductions.
Obama had announced with great fanfare an Executive Order barring any former lobbyists who join his administration from dealing with matters related to their lobbying business... nor could they join agencies that they had lobbied in the last two years. Then almost immediately, he waived his own ethics rules to nominate former Raytheon lobbyist William Lynn as Deputy Defense Secretary. A number of other former lobbyists on the White House payroll are no easier to explain-away.
After the withdrawal of Tom Daschle from consideration this week, Obama claimed in a seeming moment of candor "I screwed up", and "I'm frustrated with myself". But with Obama, such admissions only come after the fact... if and when he is caught. Recall his statement when the Chicago Sun-Times uncovered Obama's highly-dubious real estate deal with convicted felon and major Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko in 2006; he called it a "boneheaded mistake". While some seem willing to accept such self-deprecating "confessions" as sincere, the truth is that Obama knew perfectly well what he was doing, but will always deny any connection to such goings on as the Blagojevich case if possible, then invariably claims to be "saddened" and "surprised". But, when caught in an inescapable ethical bind, his default setting is to play the honest, everyday Joe... after all, who doesn't make "mistakes"? Obama is very good at this... that's the kind of skills one acquires in the Chicago Machine, where ethics blow-ups come with the territory.
Now we are hearing that the CIA's Leon Panetta earned more than $1M last year serving on corporate boards, consulting, and delivering speeches... including some given to imploding banks at the peak of the financial crisis. This all sounds remarkably similar to his ex-boss Bill Clinton's lucrative speeches and "consulting" work, except that Clinton's was done on the international stage. Yet somehow, despite that glaring conflict-of-interest, his wife Hillary was still confirmed as the nation's top diplomat.
Meanwhile, on Capital Hill, the gargantuan "stimulus" spending bill has been leaking steam ever since it failed to gain one single GOP vote as it was rammed-through the House of Representatives. When challenged to defend his proposals and the bill's reckless spending, Obama abandoned yet another major pillar of his 2008 campaign, that he will bring bipartisanship to solve the myriad challenges we face. As Obama did his best to sustain his smiling used-car-salesman shmoozing skills, the Democrats crafted a bill with almost no GOP input or debate in committee. When met with resistance, the president arrogantly reminded Republicans that "we won", and that Americans "embraced" his ideas when they elected him.
Perhaps Americans supported his promise of bipartisanship, and even swallowed the MSM's promotion of this myth... but did voters actually embrace the Obama that was hidden and denied... the real one- with the most liberal voting record in the US Senate, and who voted a strict, far-left line in the Illinois legislature? Maybe voters are now waking-up, albeit belatedly, to the reality of just what they voted for in the name of making "history"and the opportunity to "change America together".
With the momentum turning, and the reality of this pork-laden shopping-spree laid bare, Obama's previous swagger has evaporated... replaced by a shrill, alarmist tone designed to frighten lawmakers into supporting the bill in the Senate. The president warned in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post that failure to act on an economic recovery package could plunge the nation into a long term malaise- one that may prove "irreversible". He dismissed the idea that more tax cuts are needed, stating "I reject these theories, and so did the American people" in the election, when they "voted resoundingly for change." Obama even stated that "failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into catastrophe"- not maybe, but will... and this from the guy that only two weeks ago was waxing eloquent on the triumph of "hope over fear."
Anxiety in the Obama camp was bubbling to the surface this week, as the president voiced frustration in TV interviews. Against all odds, the GOP is starting to win the message battle over this bill. and he's clearly not used to playing catch-up. During the campaign, Obama had complete control over his message... and seems to feel genuinely surprised -and even wronged- that Republican (and even some Democrat) legislators aren't lying right-down for him. The fact is that Obama never really articulated clear guidelines for this "stimulus", in deference to Capitol Hill lawmakers- but also because Obama simply lacks the stature to contain Pelosi and Reid, a fact made abundantly clear by the all-over-the-road spending the bill became laden with... precisely what has turned-off an increasing number of voters and lawmakers.
Perhaps hubristic victor Obama should be informed that the wave of unquestioned support that he's enjoyed to this point is rapidly coming to an end. And maybe some of his people need to show him last week's Rassmussen Poll that showed just 42% support for the bill- with 39% in opposition. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article claiming that only 12% of the spending in the bill could even remotely be considered and economic "stimulus"... as many are rapidly becoming aware of.
To top it off, Obama's fans in the European Union objected vehemently to the inclusion of "buy American" requirements in the infrastructure portion of the bill, threatening a trade war... at which the Democrats backed-down and rewrote the provision. Where did all the cheering crowds go? Time for another Beatle-esque European tour, perhaps.
And it sure didn't take long for the president to have his own "Katrina moment", when he was conspicuous by his absence in the aftermath of the fatal ice-storm disaster in Kentucky... as was FEMA. While Obama was busy turning-up the White House thermostat to 77 and throwing a Super Bowl party, the citizens of (red-state) Kentucky were freezing with no power, water, or communications in the wake of a devastating ice storm that left at least 42 people dead. Obama was not "slow", as George W Bush was criticized for in New Orleans; he was, in fact, a total no-show. Perhaps if he can't raise money from them, or establish an obedient voting-block, he's simply not interested.
On the issue of defense, Obama's sole proactive military action, against the Taliban in Afghanistan, was this week dealt a severe and humiliating blow by the Russians in Kyrgyzstan... who just days before offered to not point missiles at NATO's Poland and the Czech Republic- if only we'll just forget about that missile defense of outrs that makes the Russian military's most vital weapons obsolete. Never mind that Iran launched a satellite last week, North Korea rolled a huge ICBM towards the launch pad for a fun test-drive, as the Russians themselves unveiled an all-new missile program.
But, a mere week after making that friendly offer to not target the EU with nukes, the Kremlin appears to have pried the American Manas air base in Kyrgizstan away with loans and aid. While the Russians "wish us luck" in dealing with the Taliban, their snatching of the Manas air base right from under our noses will make Obama's plan to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan far, far more difficult... and they know that. The Obama administration was caught completely unaware and asleep at the wheel by the Kremlin's maneuvering.
Besides possessing mystical powers and a super-genius intellect, Dear Leader Kim Jong Il seems plenty immune to the Obamamania bug, as well. Sensing weakness, the unpredictable North Korean regime has responded to conciliatory gestures from Obama and Hillary Clinton with nothing but contempt. What Team Obama is considering is the same kind of "deal" that the foolish Jimmy Carter talked Bill Clinton into ten years ago: basically bribing Pyongyang with fuels and food to stop their development of nuclear weapons and ICBMs, while they graciously accept our gifts and continue to do just as they please at secret, underground sites.
To set the stage and move North Korea to the top of the Obama agenda, the North Koreans made preparations this week to test-fire it's longest range ICBM, specifically designed to carry a nuclear warhead. The Taepodong-2 missile has a 6000 km range, bringing Alaska and the west coast of the US well within range... right as Obama seeks the cancellation of America's missile defense programs.
One of the central foreign-policy themes of Obama's "change" was a new way of dealing with Iran's support of terrorists and unsettling nuclear development program- and to correct the "mistakes of our past". Obama proposed "talks without preconditions" with Tehran, and defended the plans tenaciously in the presidential debates.
This week, the Iranians responded to Obama's extended hand- dealing the Obama administration the first of many humiliations sure to come- "This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed... Negotiation is secondary, the main issue is that there is no way but for (the US) to change." Then, a senior Iranian advisor, Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi, stated that talks with the US "would only succeed if the Obama administration accepts Tehran's right to have a nuclear program."
Of course, talking in circles with a disingenuous Iranian regime would allow them just the time they need to put the finishing touches on their first nuclear warhead... and it's pretty clear that the missiles are ready, after this week's launching of Iran's first satellite into orbit. In the end, Ahmedinjad would simply lie to Obama's face anyway... or just tell him to shove-it. The Iranian regime is an utter failure domestically; support is now based entirely upon attaining nuclear weapons, paired to a confrontational, even apocolyptic policy towards Israel. And instead of standing up to them as they are feigning the strength of the "Iranian Nation", Obama is emasclulating our country, as Iran ignores him completely... they know he's not going to do anything.
And the Iranian challenge is intricately involved with America's relationship with Israel. Barack Obama has stated that his administration would be prepared to abandon the Bush doctrine of isolating Hamas, by reaching out to them with low-level diplomatic contacts. But the Israelis appear to place little faith in Obama's pro-Israel rhetoric on the campaign trail, quickly moving to establish facts-on-the-ground and settle accounts with the Iranian-proxy terrorists of Hamas before Obama was sworn-in. They are the target of an existential threat from the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas axis, and cannot afford a Pollyanna world-view like Obama thinks is so fashionable.
In fact, rather than falling under Obama's "charms", the Israeli electorate is resolutely moving in the opposite direction from US policy now, with pugnacious nationalist Benjamin Netanyahu favored to win the February 10th election. Bibi has already announced his intentions to "topple" Hamas rule in Gaza, as well as prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons... at any cost, and despite lack of US support. For the Israelis, it's not a just trendy cafe discussion... their lives and country are what's at stake. And Mr Netanyahu will take care-of-business, ignoring the clueless Obama, who will, with complete lack of moral and strategic clarity, turn the US into an impotent bystander. And after the IDF is done with Gaza and Tehran, there won't be any of these medieval maniacs left for Obama to hold his "talks" with.
This week Dick Cheney felt the need to give warning against what he sees is dangerous exposure to the Al Qaida terrorist threat: "When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaida terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, I worry." He went on to say that "Protecting the country's security is a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business"..."these are evil people... and we're not going to win by turning the other cheek." The former vice-president stated further that "the US needs to be not so much loved, as it needs to be respected. Sometimes, that requires us to take actions that generate controversy. I'm not all that sure that that's what the Obama administration believes."
Did anyone actually believe that the Russians, Iranians, or North Koreans would admire Obama's supposed idealism, and welcome a good-faith peace-deal with the US... when every one of these regimes needs an outside enemy to stay in power?
The press will continue to cover for Obama... up to a point. But real leadership requires difficult, unpopular decisions that often result in short-term unpopularity- a price the political chameleon Obama is surely unwilling to pay, when given a choice. He'd rather just keep dishing out free candy to the historically ignorant, and smiling like the hollow celebrity that he is- as he wows the plebes with more "soaring rhetoric". However, lack of results and/or grevious setbacks cannot be covered-up nor explained-away by the MSM indefinitely... there has to be a tipping point.
The most likely scenario from here is a steady erosion of Obama's popular support as his economic policies do more damage than good, ethics issues continue to arise in mockery of his promises, and foreign policy mistakes bring us defeat, danger, and humiliation. It is hard to think of a previous president that promised so much, but who's means are likely to deliver so very little... a formula for political collapse if there ever was one.
Not only is Obamamania no-longer contagious, but an antidote has been found for the afflicted, one that many long suspected would work on those suffering from this combination of wishful thinking and historical ignorance- it's called "cold reality".