President Obama swept into office with one of the highest popularity ratings in history. He carried into the Oval Office all the hopes and dreams of his millions of supporters who truly believed in their heart of hearts that THIS time, THIS man would be different. So how’s that been going?
Since President Obama was inaugurated, he has gone from being able to ignite the souls of everyone in a room just by the eloquence of his speech, to what even some of his staunchest supporters are now starting to call a wishy-washy centrist. In his attempts to govern moreso with an emphasis on compromise rather than picking a side and rooting himself in his convictions, Mr. Obama is beginning to receive heavy criticism from some extremely unlikely and unexpected sources — which is not exactly the best way to kick off a reelection bid!
Mr. Obama is a proven master at public speaking, which has surprisingly turned out to be a double-edged sword. His ability to use just the right words at just the right time helped get him elected, but is now hurting him as a leader when those words appear to be political double-speak and a veiled attempt to have it both ways. Critics say the president rarely takes a dedicated stance on any issue, but instead prefers to remain silent in the middle while both sides duke it out so that he can serve as more of a mediator in the end. Republicans are against him for all the obvious political reasons, but liberals are starting to turn against him now too, for failing to stand up and be — a Democrat. Mr. Obama is the leader of the Democratic Party, yet his own constituents are beginning to blame him for failing to uphold the ideals and convictions of the party because he’s more focused on “wanting his cake and eating it too.”
As the first African-American president, and as a president having to deal with perhaps the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, it is understood that Mr. Obama must walk an incredible tight rope or risk certain failure. For example, although it’s quite clear that the president supports same-sex marriage, he can’t exactly come out and say it directly without putting at risk millions of votes from conservative Christians and Independents who aren’t quite there yet on that social issue. But the president can stand up to the small 60+ members of the Tea Party in the House and put them on notice that he will not be pushed around. And the president can come out of the closet and be an admitted Democrat, without having to always cow-tow to the Republicans.
In the recent debt ceiling debate, House Speaker John Boehner gloated that he got nearly 98% of everything he wanted, while the president was criticized for being spineless and giving away far too much to the opposition. There was once a time when no one would have dared speak of Barack Obama in such a way, particularly those who have been his biggest supporters. So what happened?
Is President Obama’s governing style all part of a master plan to get him reelected, so he can then use a 2nd term to run the country like a Democrat? Or has Barack Obama simply lost his mojo?
<span>"Is President Obama's governing style all part of a master plan to get him reelected, so he can then use a 2nd term to run the country like a Democrat? Or has Barack Obama simply lost his mojo?" Yes. And Yes. He's utilizing the governing style he feels will give him the best chance to be re-elected. However, it must be clear to him, BY NOW, that he's lost a bit of his political "mojo" as a result of governing in such a manner. Point blank: I don't like the "Lead from behind" style. Never have. IMO, he automatically defaults to that style WAY too much even when it's clear that a BOLDER style of Leaderhip is needed to accomplish his desired stated goals…the kinds of Goals that are GOOD for the country and most Americans have expressed they would support. Look. The man is intelligent, extremely Civil and, as noted, an articulate speaker. But that's all he does is… Read more »