Thursday, December 02, 2010

Season's Greetings

Krugman smacks the Obama apologists:
After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?

On Monday, we got the answer: he announced a pay freeze for federal workers. This was an announcement that had it all. It was transparently cynical; it was trivial in scale, but misguided in direction; and by making the announcement, Mr. Obama effectively conceded the policy argument to the very people who are seeking — successfully, it seems — to destroy him.

So I guess we are, in fact, seeing what Mr. Obama is made of
Yup, this is what you voted for, Whole Foods Nation. This is the person you were warned about. You voted for a Reagan-adulating, Democrat-hating cipher who has taken the total mess bequeathed to the nation by Bush/Cheney and has made it worse. He is not even pretending to try to defend any interests, not even his own.
Instead, he apparently intended the pay freeze announcement as a peace gesture to Republicans the day before a bipartisan summit. At that meeting, Mr. Obama, who has faced two years of complete scorched-earth opposition, declared that he had failed to reach out sufficiently to his implacable enemies. He did not, as far as anyone knows, wear a sign on his back saying “Kick me,” although he might as well have. 
Obama is not a Reaganite, no matter how much he enjoys fellating the corpse of the Gipper. If he really were a Reaganite, he'd know how to preserve and expand power.

I've written before that Obama lacks any sense of or taste for politics, and think I have his political philosophy identified, namely a very patrician Hoover-ish progressivism, but something Krugman wrote today made me have a very bad thought:
One would have expected a candidate who rode the enthusiasm of activists to an upset victory in the Democratic primary to realize that this enthusiasm was an important asset. Instead, however, Mr. Obama almost seems as if he’s trying, systematically, to disappoint his once-fervent supporters, to convince the people who put him where he is that they made an embarrassing mistake.
I read this a little differently. What it looks like to me is Obama methodically reversing the desires of the people who voted for him, inverting every virtue and intention they projected on to him. If someone was trying to deconstruct the Democratic Party from the inside - betray its hopes, derail its changes, destroy its legacy - you couldn't ask for a better example.

Almost like an act of revenge.

I said in Primary Objective that Obama was not mortally unpopular with the base, but I'm having to rethink that claim much more quickly than I imagined given the way he has increased his pissing on the Democrats since the mid-term losses. If he has no loyalty to any part of the party and is eager to walk around with a big "Kick me" sign taped front and back, then it makes no sense for the party to follow him off the cliff. Krugman closes by saying, "It would be much easier, of course, for Democrats to draw a line if Mr. Obama would do his part. But all indications are that the party will have to look elsewhere for the leadership it needs."

I think the primary season has opened a few months early.

Anglachel

10 comments:

Koshem Bos said...

Just finishing reading what may be called "Krugman's divorce papers" served to Obama. Krugman, a Hillary supporter, gave Obama more chances than a battered wife gives her husband before calling it quits.

As opposed to the post, I don't think that Obama tries to harm Democrats. He, like W, lived a life of luxury. Neither really worked until they became president. Obama, and his Ivy League education, is an idiot, a push over, a jerk and a show off. Hillary has showed in all their debates how weak is reasoning is.

I spent my professional life in science. We go for simple solutions. Above I gave the simplest explanation even people at my barber shop will go with.

alibe said...

I think it might be wise for the Democratic Party to kick out Obama. Make him a Republican. Strip him of his Democratic label. Surely there are some requirements for a politician to claim the Democratic mantle. Obama is a fraud. And we all knew it.

Cirze said...

Very nice dissection of a difficult time in US politics.

Krugman has filed for divorce, and so have most of us.

May I blogroll you?

Suzan

A little night musing said...

I think (agreeing with you) that it is telling that one so frequently sees headlines along the lines of "Obama to work with Republicans on..." or "Obama seeks to work with Republicans to..."

What are the Democrats, chopped liver?

Actually, at the moment, less than chopped liver, since chopped liver would be a tasty snack...

(I guess my real question is, WHERE are the Democrats? Why do not Democrats in the House and Senate just on their own try and promote a Democratic agenda, since this President so clearly is not going to take the lead on that? There have been some outspoken examples - Tony Weiner comes to mind - but no concerted group effort. Less than chopped liver indeed. Yeah, what Alibe said.)

Anonymous said...

"But all indications are that the party will have to look elsewhere for the leadership it needs."

I'm sure they will find it, as long as it wears a penis. Possibly they can dig up and reanimate the corpse of Bobby Kennedy.

Unknown said...

It's not just you who perceives a noticeable increase of disenchantment out there.

Whatever else you think of Daily Kos and its commenters, they did more to get Obama elected than any other blog. And his defenders are in a minority there now.

Even John Cole is starting to crack.

Anonymous said...

Kudos for Krugman! As Koshm Bos said, Krugman turned the other cheek repeatedly and bent himself over backwards trying to give Obama the benefit of the doubt. He even had to go to the WH to be whipped into shape. But now he screams "Stop the Insanity" and serves Obama the papers.

I just wonder though how many Obots will get it, or will they just start labeling Krugman a raycist or say he's not intelligent enough to understand Teh One.

As for Obama's intentions, I believe he has the mindset that he will harm anyone and everyone who gets in his way of self-preservation and potential for adulation.

Shainzona said...

Has a sitting POTUS ever switched parties in mid-stream.

We could be looking at a first!

Anglachel said...

Koshem - I agree he is an empty suit in many ways, but there is something making me unsettled. Think back to associations with Rev. Wright.

alibe - We may be in a position to test that proposition.

Suzan - Blogroll me if you like.

A little night musing - yup, not just Obama. See my next post.

janiscortese - Eeewwww. Though Kennedy worship is part of the party's problem.

Ribonucleic - Yeah, but the Great Orange Cheeto is just as stupid as ever. They bashed Obama when he first came to prominence, kissed ass when they though they could use him to defeat Hillary, and now are whining because they didn't read the operating instructions that were there for any moron to see.

fembotsforobama - I think it goes a little further than going after people who get in his way. I'm personally waiting for people to start claiming Krugman's son is working for Hillary to secretly undermine Obama. (takes tongue out of cheek).

Shainzona - It would be amusing, if nothing else.

Joyce L. Arnold said...

Obama is doing what Obama wants to do, and I think a majority of the DC Democratic Electeds are doing the same. Not a glitch. Not weakness or lack of courage. Not, on Obama's part, lack of experience or being naive. A choice. The lack of experience does show up, in how poorly he manages message and process, but I think the decisions reflect his positions.

I am doubtful the Democratic party can be revived to anything like the FDR party you describe in the "Hillary is not going to save us" post. Not impossible, but at this point, it doesn't seem likely. Third party, or parties. I know, that's usually shot down as "impossible in our system." I don't agree. I don't know it will happen, and am fairly certain it's significantly more unlikely than likely. But at this point, we basically seem to be stuck and floundering in "oh my god he's really that bad" and "I told you so."

And if I actually manage to get through the Blogger word verification process again, just want to say I'm reading regularly and appreciative of your work.