The People Who Can Make or Break Obama
The president is staking his administration's success on individuals who just might hurt rather than help him.
President Obama managed to pass his stimulus bill. It was not exactly a difficult task, considering the overwhelming Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. But if the last few weeks are any guide, things may get considerably tougher for Obama from here on out. There are six people who are going to make life more difficult and complicated for the president. How they perform and how the president reacts will, to a large extent, determine the course of his presidency.
Tim Geithner: To say the treasury secretary has gotten off to a slow start would be a great understatement. In short, he “bombed” in his debut as the architect of the bank bailout plan. Not only did he not have a plan, but his image was that of a callow grad student and his performance uninspiring. The markets tanked and the critics carped. If the markets, other government officials, and elected politicians lose confidence in Treasury Secretary Geithner, the entire Obama financial recovery plan is in for difficult times. Any further missteps by Geithner or other senior advisers are only going to rekindle doubts about the president’s own hiring skills.
Nancy Pelosi: Almost single-handedly Speaker Nancy Pelosi destroyed President Obama’s image as a moderate conciliator. Her pork-a-thon spending bill dressed up as a stimulus and her decision to exclude Republicans entirely from the legislative process not only revived the Republican opposition, but needlessly sacrificed the Democrats’ appeal to moderate swing voters. Now that her appetite has been whetted (and it is clear the president has no interest or ability in restraining her), there is no telling how far to the left she will leap. The danger is a series of hyper-partisan battles over “card check,” health care, energy, and the like, in which the Republicans will be able to cast their opponents, including the president, as ideologically out of step.
Eric Cantor: The Republican whip was able to line up two successive “perfect” votes in opposition to the spending bill. Even the New York Times is touting him as a Newt Gingrich-like figure in opposition. If he is able, along with House Minority Leader Boehner (who demonstrated some theatrical flare himself) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to organize principled opposition to the Democrats’ liberal agenda and provide a stream of alternative conservative ideas, he will have the Republicans well positioned for 2010. Moreover, the heat will be on the Blue Dog Democrats, whose willingness to sacrifice their own political viability for the sake of party loyalty will be severely tested.
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Jennifer Rubin is PJM's Washington, DC, editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.
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41 Comments
1. Войска ПВО:“Nancy Pelosi: Almost single-handedly Speaker Nancy Pelosi destroyed President Obama’s image as a moderate conciliator..”
Tangential anecdote time: Back in the days of Carter, when he was wrestling with the 444-day Iranian hostage crisis, we were constantly reassured that Ayatollah Khomeini was in failing health, just hanging on by his fingernails, and would drop off the twig at any moment. Yet that old fart kept holding on through the end of Carter’s regime, through Reagan’s, only to expire on the veritable eve of the Gulf war, with a smile on his lips, no doubt, at the beginning of the troubles between his former adversaries, Saddam Hussein and the United States.
I draw a parallel to the current term on Nancy Pelosi. Oh, not that I wish for her demise at all, but rather to express my amazement that she persists despite the seemingly failing health of the congress she runs. Single-digit approval ratings notwithstanding, she and the clowns who forged that Obamination we will be paying for the rest of our lives are the Democrat (and Democrat-lite) equivalent of the Energizer Bunny.
John Cameron Swayze and Timex would have been proud.
Feb 17, 2009 - 1:40 am 2. Barnett:Will he work to remove corruption? One, has to know what that means, and Obama,apparently, doesn’t, nor does anything in his background give evidence that he does.The corruption will be more firmly rooted.
Feb 17, 2009 - 3:10 am 3. formwiz:Tedisco’s election isn’t necessarily going to be that significant. Wait about eight months for the reality of the Obamanation to set in. Then you can start following special elections.
PS Jennifer, love your work, but, in describing Boehner’s theatrical ability, the word is flair, not what state troopers put at the side of the road to mark an accident.
Feb 17, 2009 - 4:01 am 4. David Thomson:“But the the direction of his presidency remains his.”
And that means the citizens of the United States are royally shafted. The biggest thing going against Barack Obama is his pathetic lack of knowledge. He is poorly educated, and it is too late for him to anything about it while handling the near overwhelming duties of the presidency. Ronald Reagan, who graduated from Eureka College, was a very well read man who was ready on day one of his inauguration. The ego-tripping Harvard University graduate, on the other hand, is ignorant. I don’t even think that Obama possesses the intellectual ability to read a serious book. There is nothing wrong with our newly elected leader’s I.Q. He is a bright guy. Obama is just lazy. He preferred to learn how to manipulate the system. Taking advantage of guilt tripped white people was subconsciously deemed an easier road to travel to the White House—and he was unfortunately right. We are going to pay an awful price for the affirmative action grading that has been going on for the last four decades in our so-called elite universities.
Feb 17, 2009 - 4:01 am 5. Bilgeman:Ms. Rubin:
“There are six people who are going to make life more difficult and complicated for the president. How they perform and how the president reacts will, to a large extent, determine the course of his presidency.”
How could you leave out Michelle Obama and the Democrats’ answer to Spiro Agnew, Vice-President Joe Biden?
Every time those two open their soup-coolers, somewhere a new Republican is minted.
Feb 17, 2009 - 4:36 am 6. quasar:Add two more to the list. I’m told that there are only two living humans who witnessed His birth. I’ve also been told that these two people are Kenyans. This may someday jump up and bite him in the ass.
Feb 17, 2009 - 4:47 am 7. Revoltocon:“The president is staking his administration’s success on individuals who just might hurt rather than help him.”
He thought, since everyone just ignored his past and the vetting of his friends during his run, that he could get away with paying off his favors by placing the thuggish and the inept into his administration. But now even his greatest campaign spokesperson, Chris Matthews (who used to get a feeling up his leg whenever the “Great One” spoke), has even asked one or two concerned, pertinent questions about the special spending-projects-hidden-away-for-years-in-Democrats’-drawers bill. When you hire the very people who engineered the economic downfall to head its recovery – well, people notice.
Feb 17, 2009 - 5:18 am 8. SAF:If Obama fails it will be Obama’s fault. He selected his allies and he can’t or won’t manage Pelosi et al.
I never bought the change we can believe in bit but was hopeful I was wrong that it would end up being a farce.
So for those of us that thought he would just be a lefty we are not surprised. Some of his supporters who believed the hope and change branding must be disappointed.
Feb 17, 2009 - 5:50 am 9. Craig:Nancy Peloser has successfully appeased her loon base. The moonbats know that any cuts, changes, or additions to the final Spendumust bill were out of her hands. She can now strut around SF knowing she inflicted as much damage as possible.
Feb 17, 2009 - 5:57 am 10. typos_R_us:http://www.usastrike.org/
The Usurper has about 6 months to avoid a civil war by fixing the economy.
Feb 17, 2009 - 6:12 am 11. Peg C.:The Demonrats plan of just spending money and buying votes until the economy self corrects ( which it will do) then taking credit for the recovery will not work because a natural recovery will take several years if not a decade. So the Usurper and his fellow criminals have a deadline that they are not aware of. Blood in the streets by October.
Great piece. The most interesting and hopeful of the 6 for me is Cantor. Conservatives have long admired him but Obama is single-handedly raising Cantor to superstar status. Let’s see if he can continue to hold the Republican line in the House and cause the Axis of Dem Evil continued headaches and bad press.
Feb 17, 2009 - 6:13 am 12. Big Red:I must take a moment to defend Rahm Emmanuel and his remark about not thinking the of the White House as “Amateur Hour” because of the first three weeks. He’s right. Amateurs would have done a much better job. Somewhere Mr. Peanut is laughing, having come to the realization that soon people will quit remembering what a lousy president HE was. I guess we have reached the logical outcome of 40 years of affirmative action.
Feb 17, 2009 - 6:21 am 13. jerryofva:The reason that Obama’s success lies with the action of others is that as all his opponents, Democrat and Republican alike, said he is unprepared and unqualified to be President at this time. His actions or should we say inactions during his first month of office demostrate that Sarah Palin is better qualified for the the job then the one we elected.
Feb 17, 2009 - 6:27 am 14. Laura:He’s already veered left. He campaigned for porkulus. He continues to say that universal health care is a top domestic priority. He’s dipping America’s toes into the fetid pool of Durban II, thereby legitimizing it. He’s laying the groundwork for accepting a nuclear Iran. He’s ignoring Russia’s meddling beyond its borders in ways that damage US and NATO interests in Afghanistan.
Feb 17, 2009 - 6:35 am 15. cfbleachers:Jennifer, a person…not a thing…will shape our future as it applies to this administration.
If the entrenched media continue to cover for every mistake, misstep, fraud, graft, felony and assault on free market enterprise, if they continue to carry water for everyone and everything left of center…then we are doomed.
You can’t ask people to dig for their own facts in our information stream, upon which to make informed decisions, voting or otherwise. When the entrenched media plays hide n’ seek and blind man’s bluff with our information stream…nothing…..nothing else truly makes much of a difference.
If we can’t get truth, we can’t get healed. Nancy Pelosi is the malignant tumor of our times, but she is not presented as anything but positive by an equally malignant media.
20% of the people are in bed with gang raping the information stream in order to produce a one party leftist government. 30% are hard conservatives and don’t believe the NYTimes, NBC, CBS, CNN etc.
The rest are in the middle, being fed garbage…and like it or not…that swing vote means the difference in how we govern this land of ours. If the information these folks are provided is a sham, a total fraud upon the public…our ability to pull up out of this death spiral is reduced to a coin toss.
Feb 17, 2009 - 7:48 am 16. The Wizard:I agree with the statements in the commentary. Obama is the least qualified person ever to be elected to President. I find him a fraud, disingenuous and hubris. What concerns me more are his lackadaisical attitude about the workings of government, thus leaving it to “others”. What results is a “cluster____” of the America people. There appears to be no honor, sense of responsibility or concern for the American peoplle, just a group of narcissistic liberals seeking their 15 minutes of fame while lining their pockes.
This man is destroying our economy. Wall Street, most noted and respected economist and 75% of the Americans say this Pelosi Pork Package is just that, and will not help America. Yet, Obama will sign this document, still unread by the majority of congress and his staff, into law. Does anyone think that is reprehesible and irresponsible besides me? Where is the outrage?
My sense tell me Obama will not last four years…is corrupt style of government will be his downfall. I just hope he does not sell us out before Aemrica wakes up.
For the first time in my life, I am scared to death for America!!!!!!
Feb 17, 2009 - 7:49 am 17. marie:HE SURELY CAN’T BE NO WORSE THAN MR BUSH. BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE ALL OF YOU WITH YOUR BIGOTRY AND HATERED. HOPING THAT HE WOULD FAIL. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL TRULY NEED LOTS OF PRAY.
Feb 17, 2009 - 8:06 am 18. cfbleachers:Jennifer, in #15, it should read “a thing, not a person”…sorry.
Feb 17, 2009 - 9:08 am 19. Craig:17. marie:
“HE SURELY CAN’T BE NO WORSE THAN MR BUSH. BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE ALL OF YOU WITH YOUR BIGOTRY AND HATERED. HOPING THAT HE WOULD FAIL. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL TRULY NEED LOTS OF PRAY.”
Either English isn’t your first language or you’re still in middle school or you just finished listening to Kanye West.
So which is it?
Feb 17, 2009 - 9:16 am 20. Peg C.:Marie, shouting in all caps using very poor syntax and spelling does not get your point across but shows you for what you are: an uneducated Useful Idiot of the left. If you want to make convincing arguments online, you have an extremely long way to go.
Feb 17, 2009 - 9:35 am 21. Retep:Marie
Feb 17, 2009 - 9:54 am 22. gofigure:Instead of shouting, just calm down. You won, remember?
Now put your touchy-feelies on hold and try to argue the authors points on their merits.
Going back to “the ones” birth and whatnot… I have wondered why his (should be)proud and glowing mother hasn’t been seen or heard from much and where is she? I am also concerned that America voted a non-American(?) to lead our country? Why hasn’t media of some backbone ,with all their numerous contacts, verified for certain bho is Kenyan? Are they afraid…and if they are…just what or who is behind that. Media is a powerful animal that isn’t usually brought down by one bullet. Interestingly enough, throughout American history the American people have never used their 2/3 ability ever. Maybe this is the year that will all change.
Feb 17, 2009 - 10:50 am 23. mungo:gofigure:
His mother has been dead for more than a decade. Surely you knew that.
Feb 17, 2009 - 11:02 am 24. Earl:gofigure
BO’s mother died years ago. Grandma died just before the election – she would’ve known the truth.
Feb 17, 2009 - 11:12 am 25. gofigure:Kenyan grandma maintains he was born, in her presence, in Mombasa tho’ no one’s heard much from her recently either.
again…where is she in his story of triumph? where…
Feb 17, 2009 - 11:18 am 26. gofigure:His family history was a huge bargaining chip in his early election….and now they are not mentioned at all…is this our prelude to a kiss?
Feb 17, 2009 - 11:28 am 27. Kay:As far as I am concerned, it is President Pelosi, Obama is simply there to sign off every one of her wishes into law.
Feb 17, 2009 - 12:26 pm 28. deguello:Ms Rubin: You are wrong;respectfully, here are thereal insiders:They would be: George Soros,puppeter in chief,Hugo Chavez:role model; Plastic doll Pelosi(she who must be obeyed),Al Sharpton(alter ego),Joe Suzuki(speechwriter,teleprompter operator)and finally.Vladimir Putin(free speech regulator0.
Feb 17, 2009 - 2:41 pm 29. Cybergeezer:As to the article title; Only some jihadi has that power. And the way things are sizing up, it will be Pakistan as a whole.
Feb 17, 2009 - 3:28 pm 30. lucy:Obama’s legacy: The President that caused the U.S. to be nuked.
Soros handed the WH to BHO on a silver platter. Who does what doesn’t matter anymore. They’re yanking this country left as fast as possible. I like you Jennifer but you seem to be under the impression this is a normal presidency, it’s not. It was a soft coup.
Feb 17, 2009 - 5:00 pm 31. Mary Grabar:If the Republicans are smart (are you listening Michael Steele?) they’ll play that segment by Roehmer and others like it during the next campaign season. We will remember principled Republicans. There is already talk of another stimulus by Obama. This man must be stopped some how, some way.
Feb 17, 2009 - 5:07 pm 32. fred:Well, the rabble got their Teleprompter Jesus and I’m sure they are holding out hope that he can pull off miracles when things seem darkest. And if not, well, they’ll find a reason to explain why he did not part the waters.
Feb 17, 2009 - 10:00 pm 33. Open Roads:Teleprompter Jesus? Fred, excellent, and I don’t mind paying for a new keyboard!
A little bit of humour in the dark hours is most welcome.
Feb 17, 2009 - 10:57 pm 34. John Burke:An interesting lineup. To those six, I would add some combination of Bob Gates, Jim Jones, Gen. Petraeus and Richard Holbrooke with whom rests the evolution of the Afghan war over the next several years. If it goes south badly, Obama is toast. If there is real success or at least the ability tom tread water and avoid disaster, Obama will be in good shape.
http://thepurplecenter.blogspot.com/
Feb 17, 2009 - 11:53 pm 35. The Historian:THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS TOO FLAWED TO HOLD OFFICE
Eric Holder has got to go.
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/remove-eric-holder.html
Feb 19, 2009 - 12:25 pm 36. Pat J:How does Burris appointment make or break Obama? Blago appointed Burris. Burris is tainted by the appointment. Burris was a fool in not refusing it because of said appointment. Burris is further a fool for pretty much admitting to “pay for play” and thus jeopardizing his Senate seat.
To me it’s the case of another inept politician, appointed by a corrupt politician, who just happens to come from Chicago, Illinois and who also just happens to have Obama’s old Senate seat.
Feb 19, 2009 - 1:16 pm 37. typos_R_us:Nuclear proliferation has reached the point where any Rogue state can use a terrorist group to plant a nuke without fear of reprisal. The two most likely targets are London and New York because both are major harbors with too much small boat traffic to inspect.
That destroys the MAD theory. If New York gets nuked, who do we nuke back? Pakistan, Iran, or the Norks? There is no way of telling who would be behind the caper, no way of believing anyone foolish enough to claim it. The Middle East of full of people twisty enough to pop a nuke, then call in a claim in the name of their enemy. The NPT has failed, mainly thru it’s violation by Russia and China.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty
On a positive note, New York getting nuked would be the best thing that ever happened to the USA. Several metric tons of Media types, movie stars, TV personalities and crooked politicians blowing out to sea as radioactive particles. I’ll bet there are a lot of Englanders that feel the same way.
The Mad Dog Mullahs know this, which is why they hid their A-bomb test among a series of earthquakes. If they go public, they are setting up for Israel to nuke New York, then standing back and watching the USA turn Iran into a parking lot that glows in the dark.
India could do the same with Pakistan but Indians are not quite that twisty.
I bring this up because now is not a good point in history to have Ali Obama and the 40 thieves running things.
Feb 19, 2009 - 6:59 pm 38. Jones:Have you ever seen a cabinet with more ambition and less talent? Maybe the Harding administration of Teapot Dome fame.
marie-
Did you get your unicorn yet?
Feb 20, 2009 - 1:30 am 39. Bilgeman:#37 typos_R_us:
Kindly shut up. They don’t need any help.
Feb 20, 2009 - 3:04 am 40. typos_R_us:Bilgeman, if they don’t need help, why does it matter what I say?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Usurper thinks he can negotiate with guys like this;
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/02/sufi_mohammed_hates_democracy_and_calls_for_global_islamic_rule.php
Good luck with that!
BM, that is the kinder and gentler scenario. The brutal, let us wipe out America and most of Europe, scenario involves the Canary Islands fault and a Island getting dropped into the Atlantic.
http://www.drgeorgepc.com/TsunamiMegaEvaluation.html
While the scientists agree that there is a less then remote chance of this happening, they do not consider the possibility of evil men using nuclear weapons to trigger the fault. Let a Wave 30 to 50 meters tall ( 100 to 150 fett, approx) moving at 600 KPH hit the East coast of America and the West Coast of Europe and the death toll will be in the millions. Considering that everything within a kilometer of the sea will be destroyed, guesstimates go as high as 250 million dead.
Feb 20, 2009 - 6:24 am 41. Peter the Bubblehead:And before you get your panties all wadded up, I am not the first one to post on this subject.
typos_R_us @ #40
And what does dropping islands in the ocean have anything to do with the criminals and narcissists Obama chooses to surround himself with?
Feb 20, 2009 - 8:10 am