A Cautious Obama Picking His Fights Carefully
It might not be "new" politics. But it is smart politics.
Barack Obama won an impressive victory on November 4 and has overwhelming Democratic majorities in the House and Senate on his side. But that doesn’t mean he is going to get everything he wants. And it doesn’t even mean he is going to try. That’s what we’ve been seeing this week: the fine art of picking his fights and conserving political capital.
First was the Georgia Senate race. Sure, the president-elect recorded some calls and sent his staffers into the state. And, yes, the AFL-CIO blew some more union cash collected from their members. But Obama studiously declined to campaign in person. It turned out to be a smart move. He might have converted a double-digit loss to a high single-digit loss, but he would not have rescued Democrat Jim Martin. And had he appeared, the loss would have been seen as a personal rebuke. Lesson: don’t pick political fights you aren’t going to win.
Next up is the auto bailout. Obama has gone from lauding the auto industry as the backbone of the American economy to cautioning that a viable plan to revive the industry and protect the taxpayers is essential. Moreover, he isn’t personally on the phone twisting arms and cajoling his former Democratic allies in the Senate. It might have something to do with bailout fatigue and the latest poll showing the public is fed up with the car makers. (When the Big Three can’t get the public in Michigan on their side, you know they’re in trouble.) Congressional Democrats may whine that he is not more involved, but he (at least at this stage) has not shown any inclination to immerse himself in the morass of trying to cobble together conflicting interests (i.e., environmentalists and labor advocates) to construct a bailout deal which the public disdains and which likely would only be an initial down payment on the needed rescue funds. (He seems content to let Rahm Emanuel work out some interim deal.) The lesson once again: don’t publicly clamor for something you can’t deliver.
What does this portend for the Obama administration? It would be a mistake to conclude that the president-elect doesn’t have big plans. Rather, it leads one to the conclusion that he’s not going to fritter away his political chits even before he is sworn in. He has huge goals, so his approach is coming into focus: be conciliatory on everything but the big ticket items he really wants.
First, we see the conciliation. President-elect Obama delivered a line-up of national security nominees that didn’t quite send a thrill up the leg of conservatives, but did surprise and please them. He enlisted Paul Volker, Ronald Reagan’s right hand man at the Fed who beat back inflation in the 1980s, and Christina Romer, whose research on the impact of tax cuts cheered conservatives.
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Jennifer Rubin is PJM's Washington, DC, editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.
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23 Comments
1. vivo:“And he’s making the Left nervous that he might be “buying into the right-wing frame that raising any taxes . . . is bad for the economy.” ”
He’s not making anyone nervous as long as the decisions are going to be pragmatic. The country cannot be led by partisan decisions.
Dec 6, 2008 - 3:52 am 2. Formwiz:Jennifer says, “We know he’s an exceptionally crafty politician.”. Is he? Or is the craftiness David Axelrod’s? Everyone was amazed how tone deaf and clumsy Bill Clinton was during the primary campaign without the media shilling for him. I agree putting Hillary at State puts her on ice for 2012, but it also sets his administration up for lots of soap opera with an inexperienced and unqualified Secretary of State – Sarah Palin has more diplomatic experience than Hillary.
As for picking his fights, the question may be is that what he’s doing, or is he just voting “Present”?
Dec 6, 2008 - 5:08 am 3. R a Z o R:Ike Eisenhower played golf and Obama votes
present . William Ayers redefines terrorism as a
form of social protest . The media has convinced
the world that our president is the worse in
history as he keeped the secret of the 500 tons
of YELLOW CAKE found in Iraq that went to
Canada safely . Will Mr. Bush pardon Libby ? How
long is the Bush Blame Game ?
NPR is so depressed will they cheer up after
20JAN2009 ? Is the ” GOD PARTICLE ” creating or
are we ?
google : yellow cake , Iraq , Canada , Bush
google : god particle
Dec 6, 2008 - 6:53 am 4. Brad:I suppose it is worth a mention that he hasn’t actually governed yet; you know that place where intent meets reality and powerful opposition.
Dec 6, 2008 - 6:54 am 5. misanthropicus:RE: Hussein “Present” Soetero’s pragmatism & craftiness
Jennifer, don’t try to photograph ghosts – they simply won’t appear on film. What you do in these cases, you rely on hearsay, and with this as factual base you can talk about Soetero’s statemanship – isn’t the entire media doing this?
Out of his countless punching “present”/picking up fights/causes, I will remind you is his “present” attitude last September – remember his “I will give the treasury the authority to deal with this”?
This is the man, the LA Times describes him as “possibly a bit too deliberative”, and you will find him next year still there by the river, nuancing his possible fording the stream – aren’t the Democrats grumbling that he is not enough “assertive” in the auto industry matter? Oh, no! his teams is quietly working behind the scene! You’ll see!
He indeed put a lot of things in motion in this election, yet his true purpose was and is to daily march to the lectern followed by a line of admirals and generals, then firmly turning the head left and right, to inform the nation what he just instructed his aides to do. And one hour later, the same ting – you can disable the cuckoo in your clock, Jennifer Rubin, Hussein Soetero is already doing the same job.
Dec 6, 2008 - 6:54 am 6. productive worker:Is a ‘crafty politician’ someone that takes a $300K bribe from Tony Rezko? And then commits income and property tax fraud on the bribe?
Has their ever been a more corrupt cabinet than Obama’s? Clinton cattle futures bribe.
Chief of Staff was Daily’s bagman and took $16 Million from Citibank for 10 weeks worth of ‘work’.
Attorney General running a bribe for pardons game show.
Everyone else on the take.
Steal, steal, steal. Yeah, that’s our future!
Dec 6, 2008 - 7:49 am 7. ajacksonian:The actual move to do nothing on the economy, keep everything as-is and do very little on any front is one that was advised to incoming Pres. Bush in 2000. He did that… only when he tries to step in via the Executive Branch does he demonstrate the wisdom of just letting the markets stabilize and clean out the bad apples. “Don’t just do something, sit there!” is the refrain… and if his votes of ‘present’ are any indicator, President Elect Obama can look like a raving genius and do so little that it impresses the hell out of everyone. Because, at least for the economy, doing nothing is, apparently, the answer.
We could use more of less from our Presidents and Congress, come to think about it…
Dec 6, 2008 - 9:12 am 8. The Historian:PAY ATTENTION BARACK: MISSILE DEFENSE IS DO OR DIE
There are no second chances if we get this one wrong:
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2008/12/missle-defense-do-or-die.html
Dec 6, 2008 - 9:25 am 9. David Thomson:“Because, at least for the economy, doing nothing is, apparently, the answer.”
That is indeed the real answer. Politicians should normally stay out of the way and let the free market resolve any difficulties. We need more bankruptcies and reorganization of existing troubled companies. The idea “that our elected officials have got to do something” has usually caused far more harm than good.
Barack Obama’s choice of Eric Holder for the head of the U.S. Justice Department is most disturbing. It signals that black people will continue to break the law and not worry about being punished. Does anyone, for instance, believe that white Republicans counterparts to ACORN would not have already been arrested? When will Barack Obama’s presidential campaign be investigated for credit card abuses?
Dec 6, 2008 - 10:13 am 10. BMoon:I am so tired of people classifying B. Clinton and now Obama, as “smart” and “pragmatic.” Both are class A type narcissists whose one and only overwhelming desire and purpose on earth is to have their own vacuous personalities and empty identities fulfilled through the applause and adulation of the masses. Perhaps, their pathological narcisism works in our favor at times, as when Clinton listened to Dick Morris’ advice to move towards the center and balance the budget in order to save his legacy and Presidency. Obama’s seeming reasonableness or apparent centrism however should not be nnistaken for wisdom, or a true understanding of history and economics. We should all be wearing ass-armor – His virulent narcissism and Leftist ideology will doubtless come back to bite us on our backsides soon enough.
Dec 6, 2008 - 10:24 am 11. Lucy Abrams:I think this article is pretty good.
Dec 6, 2008 - 11:32 am 12. David Thomson:What my oracle tells me is he is ready for “round-the-world”trips to chat up the enemy about his perceived idea of the “negative” image of the U.S.He envisions himself as a “facilitator”and he will have nothing to do with any hard decision making policies for home nor abroad.He will leave that to his trusted minions.He wants the soft stuff that will bring him more image,such as the nature of the work of an ambassador would do.He likes to think of himself as the first black man and the first black POTUS to bring world peace.That’s what my Oracle is saying today.
“His virulent narcissism and Leftist ideology will doubtless come back to bite us on our backsides soon enough.”
This a very legitimate concern. Unfortunately, the insane focus on Barack Obama’s allegedly not being born an American citizen has sucked out all the oxygen in the room. Cynically, the president-elect’s people should be thrilled about this development. It helps them to avoid the really hard questions. John Corsi has unwittingly become Obama’s ally.
Dec 6, 2008 - 11:41 am 13. misanthropicus:RE #12/David Thomson: [...] Unfortunately, the insane focus on Barack Obama’s allegedly not being born an American citizen has sucked out all the oxygen in the room. Cynically, the president-elect’s people should be thrilled about this development. It helps them to avoid the really hard questions. John Corsi has unwittingly become Obama’s ally. [...]”
Thomson: unfortunately, as the rabid COLB type I am (tinfoil hat with quivering eggs whister on the top), I beg to differ here – while Soetero indeed is a mystery, and all what you say regarding him is correct and serious, the COLB thing is equally serious, Incidentally, the latest thing blowing around is that actually Axelrod left this COLB affair which can be solved so easy! in the wind exactly as a false target, in order to move the scrutiny on his patient’s other worrisome baggage on something that eventually will be proved as inconsequential.
Dec 6, 2008 - 1:52 pm 14. njcommuter:Possible – anyway, you are very right in your estimations.
Best -
The classic strategy for a politician who doesn’t want to be held to his promises is to make something else his defining issue, something that will keep enough of his followers happy that they won’t turn on him. Socialized medicine is just the ticket. And the key to making it work is to give it another name, a name which stresses all the wonderful things people want to get without explaining that you are slowly sawing the wings off the airplane to get them.
Dec 6, 2008 - 5:19 pm 15. mk:Bull shite. He hasn’t picked any battles. He’s acting like king of the world and the news media is letting him. He hasn’t fought any battles because he hasn’t had to.
The rubber will meet the road when he’s President and Israel bombs Iran. Or another brutal terrorist attack happens.
Picking your battles are easy when you don’t actually have to fight.
Dec 6, 2008 - 5:47 pm 16. Rachel Peepers:Great comments everybody.
I don’t think Barack’s ideology will ever get in the way of his own self interest.
Is this bad or good? Search me.
Productive worker, though, adds an unsettling thought to the mix; the idea that Obama and his crew are corrupt. If that’s true, all optimistic bets I have on this administration are off.
In a real crisis, I don’t want corruption to be part of the equation. Greed, pride, confidence, arrogance, intelligence, fear, stubbornness, lack of experience, ambition, untruthfulness are all personality aspects of Obama I can live with.
But the corruption aspect bothers me.
Dec 6, 2008 - 6:25 pm 17. mik:all obama has to do is work on healthcare, jobs, and the economy and he should be good. those things should be his priority. all the other things….doesn’t he have employees to work on them?
I hope things don’t end up being leftist or right. nobody has time for that now. that’s just distraction.
Dec 6, 2008 - 7:31 pm 18. qwfwq:I think you should read Melanie Philips’ article, From the Horse’s Mouth. That’ll disabuse you of any illusions you may have; http://tinyurl.com/5poef4.
Dec 6, 2008 - 7:50 pm 19. Войска ПВО:mk writs:
“Picking your battles are easy when you don’t actually have to fight.”
mk, excellent sentiments! This one is getting framed and going up on my wall.
The tenor of commentary from the right has been one of [justifiable] relief that he is not turning into a left-wing bomb thrower, almost showering him with pre-electionesque hosannahs. But, after the MSM honeymoon is over and someone points out that the king, in fact, is sans garb, then we’ll see how he stands up.
Image can only levitate so far; I’m betting Carter II.
Dec 6, 2008 - 9:02 pm 20. Ian Thorpe:In the approach to WW2 in Britain our Prime Miniter back then, Neville Chamberlain had a policy of choosing his fights carefully. It later became known as “appeasement.”
Obama is not President yet (not even President elect until Dec 15 as I understand the process) but he is already finding the con man’s art of telling people what they want to hear will not enough to govern the world’s most powerful nation.
Given BO’s utter cluelessness about the plight of car industry and the extent of global financial collapse I think that excellent satirist PJ O’Rourke was bang on when he asked in this blog a couple of weeks ago if it was “Too soon to talk about a failed Obama presidency just because he is not yet President.”
Dec 7, 2008 - 8:41 am 21. DJK:“That might not be New Politics, but it is very smart politics.”
It is also duplicitous, dishonest, calculating, self-serving, and two-faced.
When other politicians break promises and go back on their word, they are called liars. When Obama does the same things its “pragmatic” and “smart.”
Obama is a liar, and those who voted for him thinking they were going to get “transformative changed” were duped. He isn’t going to change squat. Moreover, he never planned to!
Dec 7, 2008 - 3:40 pm 22. Chuck Pelto:TO: All
RE: This ‘Fight’
If he IS choosing his ‘fights’ carefully….
….why is he ignoring the one about his lack of a bona fide birth certificate?
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Dec 8, 2008 - 3:49 pm 23. Rashputin:[The Truth will out....]
mik – “I hope things don’t end up being leftist or right. nobody has time for that now. that’s just distraction.”
Aside from sounding nigh well insane given the division lefties have spent eight years working hard to create, your laughable comment is immaterial. The Obama Hussein broom that’s supposed to sweep clean is going to sweep away everything, even the goodies the left is counting on. By the time he’s done, he’ll be lucky to have three people he can call his posse, much less a nation following him.
Although I never thought I’d agree with it, Savage was right when he said lefties are actually insane. They depend on the machine continuing to work in order to rebuild the machine to their liking, but they just destroyed the only leverage they had over the machine. If it keeps on going this way into the spring of the coming year, Congress Critters will need bales of currency beside their desks just to buy a cup of coffee with. Under those circumstances, things aren’t going to go the way the numbskulls among us are counting on. It’s not your Grand Daddy’s country full of trusting souls anymore. After eight years of spreading distrust of government, these idiots think they can rely on people to support, yes, the government. I think the response to the coming mess is going to be more typically American than the Euro-envy lefties understand, magnified by ten if one or more large terror incidents occur after Obama Hussein “reboots” our relations around the world.
The last time the complete idiots had a real, “game changer” in office he was such an idiot that he let Congress shift all of the blame onto him. This time, Obama Hussein isn’t that stupid by a long shot. He’s got the new media and the means to control the airwaves. Congress, at best, has rapidly bankrupting newspapers and their own good name. No contest. Congress can’t hide from the consequences of their own actions this time. Before Obama Hussein is finished with his first term, the vast majority of Americans will have decided that they never want an incumbent to be able to run for re-election again, no matter what the national office.
So, it’s a great future ahead. The first time in a century that the US actually has a chance to return to being the US rather than the half-European, half-American, mess the elites have molded it into. We’ll get it fixed; it’s just going to be a lot tougher and more painful than most Americans understand. It’s also going to be more typically American than the lefties are ready for, but that’s a good thing. They’re prepared for the last war, not the one they declared.
Have a nice day
Dec 10, 2008 - 10:11 pm