Barack Obama is fast losing the benefit of the doubt he was given on taking office. His approval ratings – now at 46% according to the reliable Rasmussen Reports – continue to slide. They are destined to bottom out, but that is small comfort. They continue to move in the direction of the abysmal approval ratings of Congress – now at 29% - both branches of which are controlled by the political party to which Obama belongs.
The situation of the Democratic Party in the United States is reminiscent of that of the Socialist Party in France of once upon a time - a party that no longer amounts to much; I’m thinking of former days under Mitterand and Jospin. When the Socialist Party did what conservatives are supposed to do: steer a prudential course in terms of fiscal and foreign policy (read fiscal restraint, balanced budgets, avoidance of international commitments that restrict future margins of maneouver), it didn’t fare too badly. But as soon as the Socialists tried to enact the dreams of their hearts – vast new projects of social engineering – it lost credibility. Its popularity shrank. That’s because social engineering and reforms in general are a tricky business. The devil one knows almost always seems preferable to the devil one has yet to see in action.
It is my hope that the Obama administration will partner with Congress to pass reforms that will stand the test of time. The better leglisation produced in the past decades was the result of compromise across ideological divides. I suggest that that will be the case in the now and in the future.
When you say partner with Congress I assume you are saying be bipatisan. The problem with that seems to be that the Republicans want Obama to fail more than they want reform or any other legislation. I would say that rather then the Democrats being socialist as you imply, that the Repbulican are the "Do Nothing" party with their constant mantra of "NO WE CAN'T (caps intended).
Posted by: RJ | September 05, 2009 at 07:22 AM
Hi RJ,
It sounds as if you are a Democrat who believes your party is reasonable and moderate in its positions, whereas the Republicans, the nasties, just won't see the light.
I've noticed that Republicans very often feel the same way except that they are the reasonable ones, the Democrats the knuckleheads.
I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think these attitudes are the prevalent ones at the moment. Worlds away from the approach of Ted Kennedy, who worked hand in glove with the nasties time and again to craft compromise legislation.
In any case, until the Republicans are better represented in the Senate and the House, I wouldn't expect them to be in a mood to cooperate. They want to be able to come to the table with more leverage.
What that means is that it's up to the Democrats to craft reasonable, moderate legislation on their own.
I see no evidence that that is happening. The stimulus package is a good example. There is a huge need for infrastructure improvements in this country. But the stimulus money, around here at least, was not properly targeted. It's being wasted on make-work projects. That's what we hear from the people doing the projects. In general, I see no evidence that the Democrats are running a tighter or more responsible ship.
Many Americans thought things couldn't get worse than the way Republicans ran things. Many of those same Americans have now decided they were wrong.
Posted by: JohnFH | September 05, 2009 at 08:30 AM