This business about the speech date change is part of a really depressing pattern.

Mayberry Machiavelli

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Aug-31-11 10:14 PM
Original message

This business about the speech date change is part of a really depressing pattern.

President Obama and his administration do what looks to be a bold move. Obstinate resistance arises, sometimes from within Democrats (such as with Guantanamo closure and trials in the U.S.), always from the GOP (debt ceiling, appointments, you name it). Then there is a capitulation that makes President Obama look worse and weaker than if the bold stand had never been taken, and it calls political competence into question, because it makes it appear that there wasn't any reasonable plan to take into account the obstinate resistance and what to do in that event.

The first time the President was met with boneheaded resistance at all costs by the GOP (and some Dems on the Guantanamo deal) it's a bit understandable as a miscalculation. But there has been plenty of time even during this one term to learn, the GOP has been completely predictable the whole time.

I fail to see what was gained by this little drama over the speech date change. What was lost was that the President lost face, and looks foolish for having challenged the GOP on this point, however small, if he wasn't prepared to stand his ground or gain any other advantage from the situation. Either the President's people were so clueless as to not even know the date of the GOP debate (not a chance), or they had no plan for the GOP telling the President to go pound sand. It can be said to be a small thing, but it's a battle that didn't even have to be fought, and lost for no reason.

The President losing face is significant. It's no small thing. The GOP understands this implicitly which is why they take such care to prevent this when they are in the Presidency.

The massive capitulation over the debt ceiling is a political disaster for the president not just because of the actual policy issues, but politically, it damaged him severely because of the appearance, and reality, of weakness. It's why his polling is so terrible now. It's why Rick Perry got into the race, when he was no doubt happy to sit out until 2016 right up until the debt ceiling capitulation, where the whole country can sense the weakness. Up until that moment Perry and much of the GOP establishment no doubt considered the race Obama's to lose with the incumbency advantage.

But when they can bring the Democratic President to heel so easily and make him look ridiculous, they can sense a real opportunity to win the office back.

I support the President. I supported him heavily in the primaries and the general election, and I still think he has many accomplishments worth celebrating and I believe him to be trying hard with a difficult hand. He has my vote in 2012. But the debt ceiling hostage fiasco and this small speech date brouhaha have me really discouraged, considered among a pattern of such defeats. It really makes me wonder how a team that ran such a strong campaign in the primaries and the general election can be stumbling so badly.