Reply #1: Actually, my complaint is he isn't "making his case" [View All]

[zipplewrath]

Obama methodically made his case"

He rarely makes his case. He almost never faces anyone publicly who could argue against him. He makes speeches in which he address the critical points he wants to address, without ever taking on the hardest questions against his policy. The West Point address was probably the worst example of this where he had a captive audience that was forced, by law, not to object to anything he might say. As such, he could say anything without and immediate risk of opposition.

In private I'm sure it is different, although again because of the deference his office can demand, there is a limited number of people inside the bubble who can truly challenge him on his weakest points.

It's nothing new with presidents, and it is the standard hazard of the job. There aren't alot of opportunities to confront a president directly on their positions. The closest is the "joint press conference" that the presidential debates have become. There is the occasional (very occasional) one on one interview with some TV hack. But there are precious few who can truly challenge a knowledgeable president. The GOP showed their true stripes when, on two occasions, they had the opportunity to directly challenge the president on his health insurance positions, and instead they all punted and just postured. I suspect it was because 1) they had nothing and 2) they were afraid he might actually adopt something they proposed and then they'd have to defend it.