Okay, maybe I’m jumping the gun, but I lived through Jimmy Carter, and I’d take that mess again in a heartbeat over the one we’re currently living through.
It’s always interesting to read what is being said about Obama and the Democrats, especially by some of the usual cheerleaders for that bunch. Here’s Michael O’Brien of NBC News:
“President Barack Obama’s seemingly hands-off management style is raising fresh questions and concerns that could upend his second-term legacy. Claims by the administration and other Democrats that Obama didn’t know about sensitive matters in his own administration — such as problems with the health care website and revelations of National Security Agency surveillance on foreign leaders — have many in Washington scratching their heads.”
More: “Even Democratic allies of the administration question why Obama didn’t know about the serious problems, and express concern about his personal response. ‘I think he might have been better off by standing up and saying this happened up on my watch and take responsibility for it. I think that’s better than saying he didn’t know,’ said veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. ‘I think people expect the president, on his signature program, to be on top of it.’”
“Confronted with missteps in his own administration, President Barack Obama has frequently pleaded ignorance — suggesting he could not be at fault about things he did not know,” AP writes. “It’s an argument with clear benefits but also inherent risks for the White House. Used too often, the tactic emboldens critics who claim the president is incompetent, detached and not fully in control. Eager to protect Obama’s time and concentration, his aides deliberate intensively about what to tell the president, current and former White House officials said. His advisers act as a triage team for an endless flood of information coming into the White House, continually making decisions about which snippets of data Obama might need.”
“Upend his second-term legacy?” Yeah, that’s what is important … his legacy. And if I had to guess, his legacy is not going to be one any president would want to claim.
Secondly, his “hands-off management style” isn’t that at all – it’s a lack of leadership. The man isn’t a leader in any sense of the word. He hasn’t a clue how to lead. He’s a petulant autocrat who fumes when he doesn’t get his way and blames everyone but himself when his programs fail.
Finally, he’s Richard Nixon II – out of touch and surrounded with advisors who are afraid to tell him the truth. That’s what all that “triage” nonsense is about. His advisors filter incoming information and then spin what they want him to see as positively as possible. He’s in the bunker and thinks he has more divisions than he really does, if the analogy makes any sense to you.
Oh, and his approval ratings are at an all time low. What we’re watching is the implosion of a presidency, such that it was. If there’s anything positive about it, Barack Obama has finally proven the Peter Principle to be false. He certainly rose well above his level of competency. That would be funny if he was in any other job. Instead, it’s just plain dangerous.
Meanwhile the Vice President’s clown car continues to roll: merrily on its way:
“Neither he and I are technology geeks, and we assumed that it was up and ready to run.”
Because, you know, leaders always assume and never check. That’s how they become so successful.
~McQ