Bad News For Democrats

[Brian37]

In the pursuit of of reality, the ego must be shed. The ability to make a claim should be protected, even if that claim is absurd. But if that person who makes that claim, insists on a taboo, it is not only a sure sign of insecurity, but a clear lack of credibility. Reality is not defined by our personal wishes, but the ability to have our claims have the shit kicked out of them to the point it goes beyond our own brains into a neutral lab. Ideas are one thing, it is only when they take a shit kicking and result in progress beyond our own personal desires, that credibility can be assigned. Popularity is a futile context in a species that will never be infinite.

[Angrboda]

A number of months back, a statistic was floated that all presidents who have been up for re-election during a time when, if I recall correctly, the rate of unemployment was as high as it was at that time, had gone on to defeat at the end of their first term. Regardless of the causes, the economy, housing and unemployment situation hasn't seen a compelling resurrection under Obama. Right or wrong, when people are suffering, have suffered, and don't see things turning around, they blame the present administration, and notably its head, the president. I find it quite believable that there may be a lot of disaffected Democrats out there. If so, the question is not so much "whether," but rather, "how much." I don't personally believe there's enough swing from, and enough strength on the Republican ticket, to cash that out in terms of a win, but it quite possibly could make the race more interesting than it would be otherwise.

Obama's going to be blamed because he's the guy who promised he was going to bring hope and change. He promised to cut the deficit, calling George Bush unpatriotic for adding $4 trillion to the national debt, "all by his lonsome", in his two terms as president. That promise didn't pan out. Instead, Obama added nearly $5 trillion to the national debt in just three and a half years. Candidate Obama also promised shovel ready jobs, then later, President Obama said there were no shovel ready jobs. Obama promised to reduce the national unemployment rate to 6% by the end of his term, or his would be "a one term proposition". The national unemployment rate still remains above 8% (8.3%). Of course he's going to be blamed. He's the guy who made promises that didn't pan out.

I'm not going to debate you on specific claims, as this being pre-election, a lot of bullshit claims are floating around, and I have no intention of fact checking yours.

My point was, whether or not Obama is to blame for the unhappy mess Americans are in, he's still going to be blamed for it, right or wrong, and that may lead to a lot of disaffected Democrats. In short, they are voting against their unhappiness, which they link to the closest available whipping post, namely Obama. I personally blame Obama less for unfulfilled promises than for, on the whole, being a rather weak and anemic leader. The Republicans have been playing a game of chicken wherein they refuse to offer even the slightest bit of compromise, and Obama hasn't done anything constructive to resolve that. (And I don't blame the Republicans. If you've got something that works, by all means, use it. The Republicans can't be blamed for simply doing what works.)

As to the claims about the Obama administration and the Bush administration, I don't blame either for the current economic woes. Yes, Bush increased the deficit, but so have most presidents in the past 30 years. (I believe that Clinton was the only president to effectively address the deficit.) Yes, Bush did a lot of things that I didn't like, but none of them were a proximal cause for the economic collapse that occurred. None of the Bush policy goals intentionally or unintentionally led to the current crisis. (There are some deregulatory actions taken under the Bush administration which some blame for the meltdown. However, most of the analysis I've read indicates that these deregulatory efforts did not or would not have significantly impacted the underlying problems.) Bush was an awful president in many ways, but he was a very effective leader, and accomplished much of what he was elected to accomplish. You can't say the same about Obama.

(And no, I don't intend to vote third party. My opinion of third parties like the Green Party is that they are nothing but an example of people who, "don't play well with others.")