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Lost
in the White House
by Bob Burnett
Lewis Carroll wrote: "If you don't
know where you are going, any road will get you there."
Carroll was musing about Wonderland but his words apply to the White
House, where Obama
has lost his sense of direction. The challenge for Progressives is to
recalibrate the president's moral compass.
It's been a terrible year for Obama and the nadir was his tax cut
"deal" with Republicans.
Among Democrats there are three schools of thought about what happened:
some feel the
president did the best he could, given difficult circumstances. Others
see it as a complete
sellout to the monied class. I'm in a third group that believes it's an
indication he's lost his way.
For whatever reason, Obama is adrift in the White House. As a
consequence, major decisions
are made in ad hoc manner, without any strategic coherence. That's what
was wrong with the
president's tax cut "deal." Obama should have seen the crisis coming
months ago and made sure
that it was a major issue in the mid-term elections. But because the
administration was disoriented,
they misplayed what should have been a political opportunity.
Maybe he's just trying to do too much that could explain his lack of focus.
Plus, he has a tendency to talk down to the Left when they disagree with him.
I remember Clinton's first year or two lacked focus - that's why they hired David Gergen.
Sadly, Clinton found his focus in Oklahoma City and he turned everything around.
But I'm guessing Obama's biggest problem is his failure to explain himself.
When he does something the Democrats hate, he talks to us like children.
If he can't explain why he did something, maybe he shouldn't have done it.