PrintAugust 31, 2009
Where's the leadership, Barry?
The answer is, there is none. Just a lot of bloviating nonsense from pinning the problems of the world on American "arrogance" to a failure to lead his own party on any legislative initiative he campaigned for.
This is the reality of Barak Obama's presidency. Liberals and the press can spin about this man's "gifts" all they want but it won't change the fact he has been a titanic failure as a leader.
Rich Klein writing at ABC's News blog The Note:
Kennedy's passing has provoked much commentary of eras coming to an end -- of the Kennedy dynasty, of the proud, full-throated liberal voices, and of the outsized political dealmakers that have long made Washington run.
But there was a political era that President Obama vowed to end that's going strong as ever. Warm remembrances don't change partisan math.
Look who wants more presidential leadership . . . Former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., offers a way forward: "If I were a White House adviser, I would suggest that the day Congress reconvenes, President Obama's version of reform should be introduced by Democratic leaders in the House and Senate," Dole writes in a Washington Post op-ed.
"Barack Obama is our president, not a commentator. . . . Obama's approval numbers would jump 10 points if Americans knew he was fully in charge," Dole writes. "Once the president has staked out his position, which will provide room for amendments, the debate will narrow, and bipartisan bargaining and other political maneuvering can begin."
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., actually agrees: "I think the president's got to decide, to step up and really frame this again for us."
E.J. Dionne Jr.: "The road to compromise is not paved by offering premature concessions and vagueness. Having held back, the administration now needs to lay out clear and understandable goals, so it can bargain from a position of strength. Dare one say it? That was Ted Kennedy's way."
We have seen the same "leadership" from Obama on every single major bill coming out of congress since he was inaugurated. He has been a non-presence throughout the entire process, only stepping forward to take credit when his overwhelming majority in the House and Senate pass something.
This is not the mark of a leader; it is the mark of a Flim Flam Man who distracts the public with pretty speeches while others do all the work, and then patting himself on the back for doing such a great job.
Historically, political Flim Flam Men are able to pull the wool over the public's eyes for a while. But eventually, people get wise to their shtick and treat them with the contempt they deserve. So it may go with the health care bill. If congress can't pass reform, it will be like a curtain being pulled back to reveal the real Obama; a stumbling, bumbling politician, out of his depth who is presiding over the ruination of our economy and doesn't have a clue about how to fix it.
