Conservative
Type 40
Obama in Denial | RealClearPolitics
One would think, given so much practice, that the Obama White House would have been better prepared for last week's wretched jobs report.
Instead, we witnessed the five stages of bad public relations. Delusion: It was a "step in the right direction." Dismissiveness: Don't "read too much into any one monthly report." Grudging acceptance: "It's still tough out there." Cliché: "There are no quick fixes." Self-pity: "I suspect that most people in Cincinnati would acknowledge that I've tried real hard."
I suspect that most people in Cincinnati and elsewhere would prefer an economic strategy that consists of something more than blame shifting and the systematic lowering of expectations.
They are too busy trying to get Obama re-elected to worry about such trivial matters.Obama's economic message is currently premised on the denial of a crisis. But last month -- three years into an anemic recovery -- more American workers went on Social Security disability (85,000) than got jobs (80,000). Hispanic unemployment is at nearly 11 percent; African-American unemployment at about 14 percent. In any other political circumstance, the Democratic Party would be seized with urgency.
Obama is showing signs of ideological exhaustion. He seems incapable of producing an economic agenda equal to his political challenge.
In this case, Obama could well suffer a Carter-like collapse, circa 1980. Not because of an ideological shift but a simple, collective judgment: He did not deliver recovery.