Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Why Obama Is A Failure. . .

In Sunday’s article, I outlined Obama’s long list of failures and showed how this supposedly talented wunderkind of a President has been a total bust at getting his policies implemented. Despite the massive advantages Obama currently enjoys, including being virtually unopposed politically, Team Obama has failed to get any of his policy goals put into law. Let’s talk about why. . .

Before we begin, I’d like to give a little shout out to loyal Commentarama reader New York Governor David Paterson, who chose this week (no doubt after reading Sunday’s article) to echo my sentiments. Says the good Governor:
“If you look at it from [Team Obama’s] perspective, they haven’t exactly been able to govern in the first year of their administration in the way that other administrations have, where you would have, theoretically, a period in which the new administration is allowed to pass the needed pieces of legislation.”
Oooo, buuuuuuurn.

So why has Obama been less successful governing than your average megalomaniac cannibal who ran on a platform of eating us all? It’s actually not that hard to understand. Yet, as more and more articles start asking this question -- or at least a similar question -- it is clear they don’t get it:
• Laughably, the leftist Guardian UK blames Republicans.

• The Jerusalem Post wrongly claims it’s because the economy is so weak that people believe Obama won’t get re-elected, and thus they think he won’t have any power until after he’s re-elected (when he becomes a lame duck).

• Jimmy “the Jackass” Carter blames racism, and the flying elves that keep touching Jimmy’s stools when he doesn’t take his medication.
So what’s the real story? The real story is that Obama is the classic example of a spoiled child. He grew up without anyone challenging him and without ever having to solve his own problems, but with everyone telling him how special he is. Now he’s full of self-esteem, full of petulance and anger, unable to relate to other people, and unable to admit that he can make mistakes, but without a hint of the talent or experience needed for the challenges he faces.

Consider Obama The Empty Suit

During the election I remember thinking how much Obama reminded me of many of the young lawyers I've met. They are super sure that if they just get the chance to “do their thing”, they can solve any problem. Of course, they can’t tell you what that “thing” is or how it will work, or how it differs from what others have already tried. Yet, that inability to detail a strategy doesn’t change their arrogant belief in their own irresistibility in the slightest, nor does it warn them of the flaws in their plans. And as one would expect, time and time again, these cocksure kids get their rears handed to them by their more experienced foes.

Obama struck me as just another of these arrogant kids, a judgment that seems to have been borne out, and this has destroyed him both in foreign policy and domestically.
Foreign Policy Failures
Obama assured us that he could just sit with the Iranians or the “moderate” Taliban and through sheer force of personality, he could bend them to his will. Yet he could never explain exactly what he was going to say. And this was because there was no plan. The entire plan assumed they would accept his offer and all would be forgiven. But they didn’t accept his offer, and he didn’t know how to deal with that rejection. Thus, he walked away from both.

What he never understood was that they might not believe him, or might not want what he was offering. And rather than learning from his mistakes, as an experienced or more humble or more talented politician would, Obama was handicapped by years of unearned praise that kept him from learning how to deal with rejection. . . how to deal with failure. . . how to turn failure into success. So, confused and unhappy, he fell back on his inherent petulance and he walked away. If they weren’t going to accept his gift of words, he would not be bothered with them.

And because he will not learn, this has become the hallmark of his foreign policy. He offered to talk with the North Koreans, the Chinese, the Indians, the Russians, the Arab World, and the Hondurans. He expected each to fall to their knees, giddy at the chance they were being offered to reset their relationship with the United States through him, and soon they would cry out “what oh irresistible one must we do to please you?” But it never happened. Like the arrogant young lawyers, his experienced foes saw through him in a heartbeat and wiped out his game plan by denying his irresistibility. With his plans in tatters, he walked away in each instance, causing the foreign policy failures outlined on Sunday.
Domestic Policy Failures
The same dynamic destroyed his domestic agenda.

When Obama came to power, he had stratospheric approval ratings, a working super-majority, and a disorganized opposition (if you can even call it that). He could have gotten a bill to change the name of the country to “Obamaland” through the Congress if only he’d had one ready. But he had no legislation ready, because he had no plan.

Once again, Obama believed that all he had to do was flash his irresistibility, and the Congress (a collection of hyperselfish creatures) would come together in harmony and quickly, efficiently, and without opposition assemble a series of bills putting together his agenda.

He never understood what it takes for politicians to convince others to support their plans. He never understood the need to build personal relationships and to form coalitions. Instead, he told the Republicans “elections have consequences” and “I won.” He made the blue dogs vote on cap and trade, even though it could never pass the Senate, and it could cost them their seats. He refused to resolve the dispute within his own party over how to pay for health care reform, even as the bill was bleeding support. And he utterly failed to grasp the need for subtlety in the application of public pressure, instead demonizing all who opposed him, no matter how minor, and insulting vast swaths of the American people. In each instance, when things went wrong, he walked away, leaving others to clean up the mess.

As a result of this, Obama drove down his own poll numbers with his lack of leadership, his insulting tactics, and his compounding failures. As his poll numbers fell and the number of people hurt by his tantrums grew -- and as he showed himself to be an unreliable ally, his power to push through anything became less and less.

Can Obama save this sinking ship? In all honesty, I would have to say no. He has shown no ability to learn from his mistakes or even to handle the slightest resistance. And now that he’s made so many enemies and he’s revived the opposition and awoken the public, he will face increasingly greater opposition on all issues -- something he is not psychologically prepared to handle. Could this change, possibly. But, at this point, he hasn’t even shown that he’s aware of the problem.

31 comments:

  1. It's telling that Obama offered to talk with the North Koreans, the Chinese, the Indians, the Russians, the Arab World, and the Hondurans... but not the Republicans since April. He can bow before a Saudi King but it's "my way or I won't play" at home. So much for the Great Unifier.

    Come on 2010 elections!

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  2. That was a very well written analysis of the position Dear Leader finds himself in -- without knowing that's the position he finds himself in. As a classic narcissist, he's blind to his own position (classic Emperor unclothed scenario).

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  3. LL, Thanks. I think you're right about this being the Emperor has no clothes scenario. He acts like a guy who has never met any resistance ever in his life and now that he is, he doesn't have any idea how to handle it.

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  4. USArtguy, You have wonder, if he can't swing a bunch of people who had every reason (polls, election disasters, lack of leadership, band wagon syndrome, etc.) to fall into line, what makeshim think he can sway people who have few reasons to listen to him? And the fact he hasn't tried tells you something about his inability to build consensus -- which seems to be all he's offering.

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  5. Andrew,

    I agree with you.

    I hope he never encounters that child who sees the emperor with no clothes. :-)

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  6. Barry’s the classic narcissist and simply lacks the ability to process the negative assault. Most people learn from their mistakes and grow. Barry will IMO will become more insolent and potentially more dangerous, desperate, and this includes all of the leftist politicians.

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  7. Joel, I think he's meeting that time and time again, in foreign leaders, in panicked members of Congress, in David Patterson, and in all those people who showed up on the Mall.

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  8. Stan, That's the real danger. Right now he walks away when things don't go his way. But what does he do when he's finally had enough of walking away.

    Fortunately, like all narcissists, he's shedding friends fast and by the time he does start to act out, he may not have any support to help him.

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  9. Not only is it a lack of awareness on the President's part, but it's also a lack of humbleness. It's an ability to say, "I'm sorry. I screwed up." Why are those such tough words for politicians?

    This President just doesn't have it in him. In the meantime, it's like watching the kindergartners govern the high school student council.

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  10. Writer X, I don't think the ability to admit a mistake lies within his make up -- even to himself. And that's probably the worst flaw a politician could have.

    It is one of life's great axioms: if the square peg doesn't go into the round hole, try another hole. But he just keeps pounding until he gives up.

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  11. Good analysis, Andrew!

    It also fits well with the idea that Obama didn't really expect to win, which I believe we've discussed before. This was a trial run and he probably expected to make a serious run for prez in 4 or 8 years. Instead, he won! That would have fed seriously into his mindset that he truly is the great one, destined to set the world aright.

    Just his existence is plan enough for him.

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  12. Thanks CrispyRice, I think there is good reason to believe that he never expected to win the presidency, but that he was only running for the future, i.e. to raise his name recognition.

    It would explain why he seems to have been completely unprepared to take the job (both in terms of experience and in terms of having an agenda ready to go), and would certainly add to his arrogance and inability to spot/fix his problems.

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  13. Good stuff I read here while simultaneously hearing Obama give the U.N. a verbal Bro-Job.

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  14. I have to give our unelected Gov. Patterson credit for standing up to Obama again. He also stood up to him in appointing Gillibrand over Caroline Kennedy to replace Clinton as Senator. Other than that a ham sandwich could do better.

    PS - I am cautiously optimistic about Obama's failure to ruin this country. Realistically he has only been in office for 8 months. I just don't believe that he can be THIS stupid. I mean he did finally catch on that when he said the economy was really, really bad that he was causing the stock market to plummet. Maybe he's just slow.

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  15. Bev, I think that cautious optimism and continued opposition where needed is the best strategy.

    While it's true that Obama has only been in power a few months, he is losing support fast, which will make it even harder for him to transition to the type of leadership needed to move forward -- particularly if the Republicans get one or both chambers of Congress. I'm not sure he can do that, thought it is possible.


    Jihad, Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. I watched part of his speech and heard the same old garbage from him.

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  16. "Can Obama save this sinking ship around?"

    If his idea is to pump more water into the ship like he's been doing then no. Another tactic that would not work here is to drill hundreds of small holes into the ship and then give the pails to the guys already in the water.

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  17. Andrew: Excellent followup and expansion on your prior post. The two together paint an entirely different picture from what his allies would like you to believe and what his enemies have made the mistake of believing. Great analysis.

    BTW: I usually find myself in agreement with the Jerusalem Post on mideast issues, but when it comes to assessing America's mood with its President, they got it wrong. My post today discusses why Obama is very unlikely to get re-elected, largely because of the issue of the economy.

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  18. Lawhawk, Thanks! I think this definitely does paint a different picture than the one painted by Obama's people (including the MSM), but the difference is that I'm going with what I've seen, not what I've wanted to see.


    ACG, I don't think they're even looking at the pales yet, they're still arguing about why the water isn't supporting the boat.

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  19. Update:

    Add Ralph Nader to the list. He describes Obama so far as:

    "Weak. Waffling, wavering, ambiguous and overwhelmingly concessionary."

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  20. link'd! and thank you for #1) offering to represent me in my youtube embarrassment, and #2) for all you guys do here.

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  21. You're welcome Patti! LOL! Thanks for the link. :-)

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  22. Andrew- I got to go back and read your article detailing all his policy failures that I missed while away. It is detailed and excellent. As far as why he is failing, I have to believe that the earlier article Commenterama did showing this country to be essentially conservative tells the tale. His version of compromising is getting you to say o.k. to whatever he does.

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  23. Excellent analysis!! I especially liked how you pointed out that while Obama stayed in neutral policy-wise, his rhetoric caused his opposition to organize. Now conservative patriots have come forward to make a strong statement. Obama will probably be a single-termer, and what time he has left will be mostly unproductive.

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  24. Jed, That's definitely at the heart of it. You really can't take a conservative country and push them willingly to the left -- though I think he had a chance when he was first elected. Now that the public is "on to him," he has little chance of succeeding with a far left agenda.

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  25. RW Libertarian, Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. You're right that he did the worst thing possible (for his cause), speak to the left but not acting when he had the chance. Now I think he faces a near impossible problem when it comes to getting left wing policies in place, and I too think he is likely to be a one termer.

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  26. Really great blog post. I will put out a link to you on twitter.

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  27. Kind of hard to get ANYTHING passed when you have reich wing representatives "road blocking" every attempt to pass ANYTHING that would benefit the American people without padding their pockets. And unfortunately the lobbyist realize that the American people elected the Democrats by a vast majority and KNOW that the right has no power (on legislation) so they've successfully infiltrated enough "blue dogs" to corrupt any chance of "TRUE CHANGE" and if you want to see the truth, not the blog BS this author and others have made up, go to politifact.com and see what promises the President made campaigning and what he's managed to keep in just 9 months. All the whilst facing idiotic opposition based on lies and deceit.

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  28. Opus, Thanks! Always happy for a link.

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  29. LeftofCenter, or should I call you ParanoidLeft? You do know that everything you said was either insanely paranoid and stupid or just a flat out lie right? Want to tell us all about the Nazis hidden under year bed?

    But hey, thanks for sharing. It's always great to see that the other side is in the middle of a reality meltdown. Feel free to come back when you finish college.

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  30. Hey Andrew, is LeftofCenter44 our first troll?? I think I have a tear in my eye...

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  31. Bev, I too teared up. I think we've arrived! :-)

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