Whatever deodorant President Obama is using, I want to use it too. Because if there is one person on this earth that must be getting a little moist in the pits, it’s him. I can’t help but wonder if he could have foreseen the enormity of the job at hand when he launched his presidential campaign two years ago. I mean, I’m wondering if ANYBODY would have jumped into the ring if he/she could have had a preview of what was to come.
When I take stock of Obama’s journey over the last six to nine months, I am reminded of one of those cartoons where the character does a gorgeous flip off the high dive, sailing acrobatically through the air, only to realize he’s overshot the pool. And when he peels himself up from the pool deck, dazed and confused from the seemingly fatal fall with stars and birdies circling the bump on his noggin, he looks dazed and wobbly, but at least he’s alive.
Kinda like President Obama.
Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit here. He doesn’t seem dazed and I don’t see stars and birdies over his head--yet. But Obama seems to be wobbling, ever leftward, even as he campaigned with a centrist zeal.
And his approval numbers are staggering slightly southward too. The President’s poll numbers posted by NBC News/Wall St Journal on 3/3 show a fall from a 79% approval rating right before the inauguration to 60% this week since he unveiled his most recent 2010 budget proposal. Even more telling, only 54% of people believe he has the right goals and policies for the country. This suggests that though people think highly of the President personally, they are becoming more skeptical about what he’s doing.
Now, I will certainly concede that these numbers are still pretty impressive. And even Santa Claus probably has a drop in approval ratings after Christmas Day. But I’m just saying, there are definitely some people out there who are nervous about what’s coming down the chimney.
I know, I know. “Change We Can Believe In”, “Yes We Can”, blah, blah, blah. But people—and the collective markets made up of those people—don’t like change for change’s sake. Obama this week was almost dismissive about what he called “the current market gyrations”. Since those “gyrations” equate to the headlong crashing and burning of people’s retirement and college savings, I don’t think he should be so offhanded.
And what about Obama’s must-have Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, the expert who should be out front inspiring confidence and revealing the new playbook? Geithner seems to playing a game of “Whac-A-Mole”—where is this guy? Say what you want about Henry Paulson, but at least he was out there, explaining himself. Obama seems to be rushing in to fill this void with his smooth delivery and incredible charisma. But eventually, the markets want to see some expertise, stability, an endgame and a structure with rules and principles. They don’t want to see our leaders throwing darts and wobbling out of the bar.
Feeding into this has got be some worry that Obama’s 2010 budget is just too expansive, not to mention expensive. Trying to completely reverse course is one thing, but do you have do it all in the next 15 minutes? We know we have to cough it up for all the regular infrastructure items, but right now do we have to take on expanded welfare, cap and trade, universal healthcare and more on top of everything else? Maybe I’m watching too many hospital dramas, but it looks like to me that the patient—the economy—is in danger of bleeding out. Let’s triage, hang a couple of bags of O Neg and get the patient stabilized before we schedule further surgery.
While Obama is sweating it out, I know a couple of people who are happier than the cast of “Slumdog”—John McCain, for one. He’s like the lucky slob who arrived to board the Titanic as it was pulling away from the dock. Don’t you know when he gets home at night, throws on his slippers and smoking jacket and turns on the news, he clicks his heels together murmuring "There's no place like the Senate...there's no place like the Senate..."?
And the other blissful guy? George W. Bush. He’s the happiest private citizen in the world. He’s just a regular schlub now, popping up at hardware stores and diners, surprising the folks around town in Dallas after leaving behind a flaming bag of poo on the White House steps.
I’m sure no one envies the job Obama has been handed. I certainly make no claims to being more capable or having all the answers. But if he asked for my advice, I’d say he needs to take it a little easier, stop rushing along at breakneck speed. Take another crack at diving into that pool. But this time, use the low board, not the platform. And just give us a clean, swan dive without all the crazy acrobatics. By lowering the degree of difficulty, he might actually hit the water, not the pavement.
No comments:
Post a Comment