Thursday, October 28, 2010

Will Obama Grow Into the Presidency?

The President met with five liberal bloggers at the White House Wednesday. He also is said to have made many telephone calls to buck up his liberal constituents. Noted, in specific, was that he was putting in calls to unions for support. Isn't this the President who received unprecedented union money in 2008? In 2010, the unions have given more to mid-term election campaigns than any other organization or special interest group. That dirty little secret emerged as the President and his mouthpieces continued on with their unfounded meme that the Chamber of Commerce was the big bad wolf.

President Obama's favorable numbers - in particular on the economy - have fallen to a new low this week. This week, the final week before the November 2 election, President Obama's favorable number is 37%. That is from the Harris Poll folks. Even after flying around the country - mostly to solidly Blue States where Democrats are facing particularly difficult races - and all the nasty gutter talk about the GOP, his numbers still decline. Why? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that most Americans are not nearly as unsophisticated as Obama thinks. He assumes that Americans find it perfectly acceptable for the President of the United States to talk like just another politician running for office in Chicago.

Well, we demand better of our Presidents, thank you.

Obama has to go to solidly Blue States because few of the Democrats running for re-election are campaigning on legislative victories. Those victories are deeply unpopular with voters. Whether it is health care reform, bailouts, the continuing growing numbers of unconfirmed by the Senate "czars", and never-ending government programs as the federal deficit escalates, voters are weary of the small minded insults the President lobs at opponents as excuses for the mess he continues to create.

“I think that the way we've seen the president deployed in different races is much as we expected the president would be used,” Gibbs told reporters. “I think if you looked at last week's [polling], when you asked people the role that the president played in their voting, it wasn't — it wasn't a huge role on either side.”

He's been "deployed" to rev up the base of the Democratic party - college age voters, minorities and women. Independents are leaving him in huge numbers, not simply because they are suddenly feeling the love again for Republicans, but because the change Obama brought is too destructive to our way of life to continue on as e intends. On college campuses his crowds have been as expected. Otherwise we read reports of less than enthusiastic audiences and empty seats.

This is a man who feels free to refer to the GOP as "enemies" when he is speaking on Spanish radio to get out the Hispanic vote. How about someone suggest the President use the word "foe" instead of enemy? Isn't that more civil? Why doesn't this President understand the need to lead by example? He was the candidate, after all, who promised to bring everyone together.

This crack about enemies followed his statement that Republicans have to sit in the back as we proceed. Imagine if former President Bush said that. Karl Rove describes Obama as "one of the most relentlessly partisan Democrats". Also, "he refuses to grow into the office". Hard to argue with either of those statements.

While the President continues to only visit Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and the random state in danger of losing more Democratic seats, maybe he will finally realize a very important truth about his office. He is the President of the United States - the whole country, not just Democrats or Blue States. Maybe he should play a recording of his 2004 speech to the Democratic National Convention for a refresher.

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