The Wheels Are Coming Off

Obama is now scaring not only Republicans and independents, but people in his own party. The stimulus is seen as a bust (in spite of the shifting rationales given for its approval – whether it was to create jobs or decelerate the deterioration of the economy, it’s still a bust), cap-and-trade is on hold, ObamaCare’s looking dodgy, and foreign policy decisions are reinforcing the notion that the President is essentially indifferent to liberty and democracy in other countries (and perhaps in this one, as well). Corruption, cronyism and lack of transparency are not only rife, but are underscoring the mendacity of Obama’s campaign promises with respect to professionalism and openness in government.

And he’s clearly not used to this kind of opposition. His speeches have become desperately bombastic, his arguments increasingly unbelievable, and his tactics more worrisomely gangsterish. In the arrogance of his first hundred days, he showed no willingness to develop genuine bipartisan solutions; now he’s stuck with a party, half of whose members think he’s too radical, and half who don’t think he’s radical enough.

We are a strong and enduring nation - but just how many Carters can we stand in one human lifetime?