The Decline of the Obama Presidency

John Dos Passos, the novelist and historian, once said: "Often things you think are just beginning are coming to an end." His observation was made in the 1960s. But it's true today of Barack Obama's presidency and the promise of a bright future for his second term.

Mr. Obama's re-election stirred grand expectations. The vote heralded a new liberal era, or so it was claimed. His victory was said to reflect ideological, cultural and demographic trends that could keep Democrats in the majority for years to come. His second four years in the White House would be just the beginning.

Now, six months later, the Obama administration is in an unexpected and sharp state of decline. Mr. Obama has little influence on Congress. His presidency has no theme. He pivots nervously from issue to issue. What there is of an Obama agenda consists, at the moment, of leftovers from his first term or proposals that he failed to emphasize in his re-election campaign and thus have practically no chance of passage.

Congressional Republicans neither trust nor fear the president. And Democrats on Capitol Hill, to whom Mr. Obama has never been close, have grown leery of him. In the Senate, Democrats complain privately about his interference with the biggest domestic policy matter of 2013, immigration reform. His effect, the senators believe, can only be to weaken the fragile bipartisan coalition for reform and make passage of major legislation more perilous.

The Obama breakdown was not caused by the trio of scandals—IRS, Justice Department, Benghazi—now confronting the president. The decline preceded them. It's the result of what Mr. Obama did in his first term, during the campaign and in the two months following his re-election. But the scandals have worsened his plight and made recovery next to impossible.

We can be reminded of words in the following Excerpts from an Address by Noah Webster (father of the American dictionary) on the occasion of the 26th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence:

"The man who only flatters and cringes to gain applause, is a saint, compared with the man who tramples on law and constitution to secure the popularity his arts have obtained, and to retain the confidence of a party. There is something extremely contemptible in the factitious character of a popularity-seeker, or mere man of the people.
--------- "The natural consequence of too much popularity is, that it enables the possessor to violate the laws and constitution of his country, and sacrifice its interests with impunity . . . During the war in Europe, in the beginning of the last century, the Duke of Marlborough, by an unusual tide of victory, was borne so high in popularity, that he had influence enough to prolong that war, for the purpose of enriching himself; and a commission was actually prepared, which would have made him general for life, but it was rendered ineffectual by, a single member of the ministry, who had firmness enough to refuse his seal. *
To be a tyrant with any tolerable degree of safety, a man must be fully possessed of the confidence of the people. Charles the first of England extended the royal prerogative to an unwarrantable length, and lost his head . . . but that prince could not have sent a detachment of three hundred men to drive the commons of England from their hall, and have effected his purpose. That act of despotism was reserved for the republican Cromwell, the friend of the people. James the second was an arbitrary man, a catholic, and odious to the English nation . . . he was, therefore, compelled to abdicate his throne. But his successor, William, a friend of the whigs, ascended the throne upon a tide of popularity; and he could deliberately sign an illegal and barbarous warrant for the murder of the whole village of Glencoe, in Scotland, and never be called in question for the murderous deed!** "Oh, 'tis excellent," says the poet,
"To have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous
To use it like a giant."
MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
"The open advocate of a strong government is subject to popular odium, his encroachments are eyed with jealousy, or resisted by force. But the hypocritical pretender to patriotism acquires, in the confidence of the people, a giant's force, and he may use it like a giant. The people, like artless females, are liable to be seduced, not by the men they hate or suspect, but by those they love.
"Our natures do pursue,
Like rats that raven down their proper bane
A thirsty evil, and when we drink, we die."
MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
* Johnson's Life of Swift.
** Smollet. continuation of Hume. Anno. 1691.

"Nor is it among the least evils proceeding from the ambition of popular favor, that the friends of the people are willing to secure it, by relaxing the energy of the laws. They know that legal restraints are odious, and will hazard the public peace, rather than not gratify the licentious propensities of their partizans. But,
. . . . "But why this gloomy picture of errors committed, and evils felt or expected? Ought we to renounce our predilection for a republican government, and abandon, in despair, the experiment which our fathers have begun? By no means. Not only our duty enjoins, but necessity impels us to prosecute plans of national grandeur and happiness, which were contemplated by the revolution. To advance, indeed, requires courage and firmness; but to retreat is impossible, and would be infamy.
"To ourselves, however, and to posterity, it will be useful to inquire, with candor and impartiality, into the causes of our disappointments. The real truth is, our revolutionary schemes were too visionary . . . and our hopes too sanguine. A republican government, in which the supreme power is created by choice, is unquestionably the most excellent form of government in theory; and with all its imperfections, is, in fact, the most eligible form, for nations in the early stages of society. In old, corrupt, and very populous nations, it is probable that the state of society must always prevent the mass of citizens, from acquiring that portion of property, knowledge and independence of mind, which are absolutely essential to render an elective government a public blessing. Government takes its form very much from the character of the people to be governed; and a republican or free government, necessarily springs from the state of society, manners and property in the United States. No other form is proper for the country . . . no other will suit the present state of society . . . no other can be imposed upon Our citizens."

The Obama breakdown was not caused by the trio of scandals... The decline preceded them.

Yet another Democrat learns that getting elected and governing require two completely different skill sets. This particular President has been lazy, inept, and divisive, and the people he brought in with him have been arrogant, dictatorial, and lawless. That isn't a good combination.

The tone really was set early on, when the euphoria of a Democrat majority in both houses of Congress and the White House as well led to a certain overreach that has left us perhaps the single most ungainly, expensive, chaotic, and counterproductive lump of legislation in American history, the bill now termed 0bamacare that hangs about the President's neck like a stinking, dead albatross. "Blame Bush" is past its sell-by date and the styrofoam Greek columns of his descent from the very heavens are now packing material for AR rifles. And he truly has only himself to blame.

He still has his apologists, of course, who are increasingly sounding as deranged and out of touch with reality as sycophants always do eventually, and have gone from promising Utopia to pretending that it has arrived. We see in the course of a single news broadcast (MSNBC, naturally) first the grim asseveration that the sequester is an evil Republican plot to make 0bama look bad and then, when 35 billion dollars have been found to the good, a brilliant 0bama strategy to save the economy. It apparently doesn't register to the talking heads that they can't really have it both ways, at least not in the same 20 minutes.

But it was 0bamacare that killed any pretense of the bipartisanship that is now so earnestly called for. Not a single Republican vote, and it's now the law of the land, and it's starting to pinch, and for once the Republicans aren't buying into Share The Blame. The sudden opportunistic push for gun control of every sort was a tipoff that bipartisanship was only a marriage of convenience anyway. That was a thoroughly predictable bit of overreach that has further poisoned the well. There will be little in the way of bipartisanship despite the croakings of the superannuated John McCain and his cronies, because there's absolutely nothing in it for the Republicans but a knife in the back and - mirabile dictu! - some of them have finally figured that out. Not enough, not yet, but there's hope.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.