From Russ Smith in Splice Today:
As the recession deepens, with even congenitally optimistic economists unable to predict any semblance of recovery in 2009, Obama will be held accountable by citizens who’ve lost their jobs, seen savings evaporate and the stock market—which Obama unwisely commented about last week, saying that daily DJIA/NASDAQ tallies are similar to gyrating political polls—is in the sewer. . . .
Largely forgotten in the euphoria of Obama’s election last fall was that just under half the voters cast their lot with John McCain; judging by the relentless stream of puff pieces on the new guy you’d think he’d been victorious in a landslide reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s over Fritz Mondale in 1984. You have to wonder whether Obama, considering the enormity of his economic challenges, which weren’t apparent until the last three months of the campaign, wishes he’d had sat it out until 2012. Probably not, but I’ll wager that on Nov. 4 of last year Obama never imagined a New York Times reporter asking him in early March if he was a socialist. . . .
When more and more people lose their jobs in the coming months, increasingly it won’t be Bush who’s blamed, since they were still employed when he was in office. It’ll all be on Obama’s watch and his gift for magnificent speeches won’t matter as much as during his campaign. More and more of the President’s enthusiastic supporters will be forced to say, “No, he couldn’t.” . . .
Is the inexperienced Obama—not to mention Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner or the insufferable and glib press secretary Robert Gibbs—with his frenzy of activity designed to live up to the hype that he’d be a “transformative” president, in over his head? All level-headed Americans, one would assume, hope that’s not the case, and that he’ll modify his budget to conform with today’s economic reality. If he doesn’t change course, it’s a certainty that his reservoir of goodwill will be fully drained.
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