Obama – Mid-Term Elections – Caught Between Party, Ideology, Rock Star Persona and an Increasingly Conservative Populace.

Obama As Rock-Star - image: myrtlebeachbum wordpress

The mid-term elections are looming, and polls conducted to date, show an overall definitive advantage to the Republican’s vying for seats in both State and National elections. Those who look at historical trends, see a pattern that is not only reminiscent of the 1994 sweep of the House by Republicans, but an earlier rejection of a brand into an administration (political party) across the board. In conjunction, polls taken regarding the Administrations programs, as well as the political think trends of the populace, most startling, a swing right on social issuessuggest a rejection of policies as well as an increase in conservatism.

A Boston Globe piece ”Midterm elections raise ante for Obama” (With a subtitle “Votes may hinge on his record”) suggests that the Presidents problems lie with passage of Health Care Reform, and that without passage before years’ end, the mid-terms may trend more Republican. One has to ask, what’s the Globe smoking?

Although a recent AP poll suggested that Health Care Reform ”has a pulse”,it is a weak one at best. To pin the Presidents woes on one issue, is not accurate, as it does not reflect additional issues (economy, stimulus, cap and trade, foreign policy, the War in Afghanistan) which are driving the majority of populace away from the middle and to the right, while at the same time alienating the base who would move the all policy further to the left.

The bellwether will be the 2009 Races; two in particular, the Governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. Should one or both states trend Republican, the news of said event would add additional credibility to the increasingly popular brand of the Republican Party (which is consistently portrayed as weakened by the Press.) However, the bigger story will lie in the State races, which are also trending Conservative – that will herald a total rejection of the Party – all within two election cycles (2006 and 2008 when Democrats took control of the House and Senate and then the Oval Office). Therefore, it is not Obama alone to blame, but the ideology of a Party run unchecked.

Herein lays the Presidents problems: Obama campaigned as a “Rock Star”, promising tax cuts to the middle, and the moon (proverbial) to the left, once settled into the Oval Office, policy and appointments veered sharply left, in line with the think of Pelosi, Reid and Frank – who appear, for all intents and purposes are the most unpopular trio in Congressional history. Rock Stars today, in general, have limited shelf-life, given the 15 minutes of fame extended to those who participate in any reality television program. The President has made appearance after appearance on national television, which has done little to further endear him to the General Public. Additionally, the fact that the public, in general, held this man to a higher standard, pinning their hopes on his “rescue” of the nation, and expecting a quick fix to boot, further damages the Obama brand. It is not a rejection of the man, it is a rejection of policy, by a nation that expected too much, too soon and a President and Congress in concert that believed they could accomplish too much too fast. He should have stayed centered, literally, moved at a measured pace and gained control of his House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader from the "get go". The President's biggest mistake: was to study Lincoln a bit harder than he studied Carter (which apparently, he did not). Had he done so, he would have had a literal “How Not To” guide on destroying both country and party in short order.