Unhappiness Abounds

A careful review of various opinion articles across the web revealed one common theme from columnists on both sides of the aisle:  a complete unhappiness with President Obama.

The right is unhappy with him, primarily because they have always perceived him as a Marxist ideologue, while the left’s unhappiness is a relatively new phenomenon rooted in the fact that they feel the President compromises with the evil Republicans too often.

The President is in the midst of preparing what has now become the biggest speech of his Presidency.  He has painted himself into a corner and now he must deliver a speech that is heavy on details and light on rhetoric.  That task might prove to be very difficult for this President because he rarely likes to embrace such detail-oriented oratory.  Instead, he likes to paint with a broad brush and leave it to others to fill in the gaps.  Case in point is the healthcare debate.

The issue now is jobs.  Americans want them and they, however wrongly, expect the Federal government to deliver them.  The only weapon Obama has at his disposal is the same old Keynesian tactics that he’s already tried.  He now either has to abandon what he’s always known, or double down on what he’s already tried.  It is very unlikely that Obama will find salvation and turn from his wicked ways, so we’re left with more of the same from him.

That’s where the problem lies.  To those on the right, any more Obamanomics will accelerate the destruction of America, as we know it.  The Republican candidates will have a field day with further big-government program announcements.

To the left, Obama isn’t going to go far enough, but he will still try.  It is likely that Obama will propose a very large stimulus package; perhaps even as much as double the cost of the last one, in a not-so-subtle effort to appease his base on the far left.  Obviously, he knows that the Republican House of Representatives will never pass such a plan.  In fact, he is counting on just that.

Obama wants to blame the faltering economy on the Republicans.  If he can propose a grand plan that he knows the House will reject, he can then lay blame squarely at the feet of John Boehner and the Tea Party, while at the same time, he can tell his base how hard he tried and that the Republicans just wouldn’t pass his plan.

It is a huge gamble, of course, but it really is the only card Obama can play if he hopes to have a shot at being re-elected next November.  The question is, will the American people fall for it, again?