Pushing the Envelope: My Two Cents on the Post-Whatever Presidency

Spare Change | March 16, 2009 | David J Aland

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

Today my son put it in perspective: “Last year, Bush got blamed for everything,” he said. “This year, he still does. Where’s the change?” It reminded me of the old Cold War joke, wherein the new Soviet Premier gets two envelopes from his predecessor, labeled “Open at first crisis” and “Open at second crisis.” When the first crisis erupts, the Premier opens the first envelope, in which his predecessor advises “Blame it all on me.” Later, when the second crisis arrives, the Premier opens the second envelope and finds a note that reads “Prepare two envelopes.”

Less than two months into his first hundred days, Barrack Obama has found out that his honeymoon is ending. The candidate who promised a new era of post-partisanship, restoral of the American reputation abroad, and even the healing of a planet, is now the President who struggles to deliver on what his ego, rhetoric, and hype promised – and he has no one to blame but himself for creating those expectations.

Throughout the campaign, Obama smoothly talked his way past suggestions of inexperience, arrogance, naïveté, and hubris, only to find those qualities the current source of his discomforts – and he has discovered there are limits to the patience of voters for empty promises. He has been rightfully criticized, by even supposedly friendly outlets like the Washington Post, for rushing through flawed and bloated bills in a needlessly partisan way, refusing to apply the discipline he promised, and failing to wring out earmarks and abuses he swore to eliminate.

His choices of Cabinet members and advisors are no better – with a tax cheat running the IRS and a shrill wunderkind for Budget Director, the marketplace has all but closed up shop. His seriously compromised choice for Intelligence Director flamed out in an anti-Semitic conspiracy-theory blaze. His choices for HHS and Labor show an absolutely cynical disregard for balance.

His Administration wallows in missteps and errors, and (what columnist Camille Paglia refers to as) his “clumsy, smirky staff” has created cognitive dissonance on a level startling even for Washington. Allies complain that the White House doesn’t answer their calls. While American savings evaporate, the White House serves expensive beef and hosts private concerts. The President gives speeches about faith while signing orders that fly in the face of the faithful.

The worst, however, is the way diplomacy has been pursued, making Joe Biden’s prediction that Obama would be “tested” within the first six months a self-fulfilling prophesy. Iran has already discarded any remaining pretext of restraint, declaring itself a nuclear and space power – and the President responded by musing about trading away a missile shield for concessions that Russia would never give, essentially throwing Poland under the bus. Russia is looking putting bombers in Cuba, Korea is threatening to test ballistic missiles, and China is harassing American ships. In the meantime, the President has speculated about negotiating with terrorist “moderates” in the Taliban, while his Secretary of State substitutes prop gags for diplomacy in Russia, and verbally undoes long-standing positions on human rights in Turkey, Egypt, and China.

Diplomacy often hinges on ritual, and this Administration has mangled just about every rite, with the visit of Gordon Brown a symbolically crowning event. From basic protocol to even the exchange of personal gifts, the President certainly succeeded in projecting an image of America – sadly, it was one of a vast trailer park bereft of basic manners. The message it sends to the rest of the world is that American is not to be taken very seriously.

There appears to be plenty of audacity in this Administration, but precious little hope. In response to the rough reception accorded these amateur performances, Obama appears to have simply opened the first envelop. In the last three weeks, the word “inherited” has replaced “hope” as the most frequently repeated by the President. But Obama did not inherit these increasingly muddied diplomatic waters, he muddied them himself. He did not inherit the disdain for failing to deliver on his promises, he brought it on himself. He did not inherit a reputation for aggravating the economic picture with unfocused and poorly organized legislation; he (to pardon the expression) got it the old-fashioned way: he earned it.

Obama still has one envelope to open – and we can only hope that he is able to at least clean up the messes already accruing to his own credit before he has to open it.

[Leg Olam]

‘Obama still has one envelope to open ‘

His birth certificate?

[webheart]

Throughout the campaign, Obama smoothly talked his way past suggestions of inexperience, arrogance, naïveté, and hubris, only to find those qualities the current source of his discomforts – and he has discovered there are limits to the patience of voters for empty promises.

News Flash! He was allowed by a compliant news media to talk his way through, and all opposition was thoroughly destroyed. The news media loves a story, and the "First Black President" was the one they were working on. He's just lucky that they decided to make Black more important than Woman.

[UScbass]

Obama still has one envelope to open – and we can only hope that he is able to at least clean up the messes already accruing to his own credit before he has to open it.

Not likely.

[RED SOUTH]

He opened his first one coming in the white House. He’s been there 60 days now and is a complete failure. Time to
prepare 2 envelopes.