If a Democrat wants to challenge Barack Obama for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination, time is quickly running out. It takes a while to put a campaign together. Aside from rounding-up enough money to challenge an incumbent – who is expected to have a $1 billion war chest – there are other logistic challenges. For starters, a campaign team must be assembled, along with a network across the states. Messaging strategy and a campaign theme must be established. It’s a huge deal. Nevertheless, if the Democrats believe that they can just sit back and watch Obama swagger his way to re-election – they’re going to be in for a big disappointment.
As I pointed out in my last posting, Obama’s problems have expanded beyond weak polling numbers. The Solyndra scandal can be expected to receive at least as much television coverage as the Casey Anthony “Tot Mom” trial. Ron Suskind’s new book about the President’s handling of the economy, Confidence Men, has provided us with an abundance of insights on Obama’s leadership failings. Those observations will reverberate throughout the 2012 campaign until Election Day.
Obama’s mishandling of the economic crisis is useful only as evidence of the President’s ineptitude in the domestic policy arena. Has Obama done any better with his foray into foreign policy? Steve Clemons provided us with the answer to that question by way of an article which appeared in The Atlantic. The essay is also available at his own blog, The Washington Note. Mr. Clemons provided a great analysis of Obama’s influence on the Israel – Palestine peace process:
Obama continues to parrot the line that peace can only be achieved between the “two parties”, that only they can really bring this global ulcer to a close, when they decide to negotiate. The fact is that the status quo of frozen negotiations is benefiting the dominant, settlement-expanding Israel — and the US, in promising to veto at the UN Security Council Palestine’s bid for official state recognition, is playing guarantor to one side, undermining the aspirations of others on the other side of the equation. What if the US had said to Kosovo — no statehood, no recognition from the US until you resolve all of your ongoing issues with Russia?
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Obama is assuring the further emasculation and perhaps final demise of Palestine’s moderates. Obama is also treating the Israelis and Palestinians as if they are on equal footing, equally able to concede to each other’s demands. What Obama doesn’t get is that a substantial portion of Israel’s population loves not having a deal and never wants one. They are OK with a peace process to nowhere — but that is not acceptable for the less-endowed, less-powerful Palestinian side. Hamas is in the rejectionist corner as well, seeing its fortunes rise as earnest efforts at peace go nowhere.
The world watched Barack Obama lose a battle in the last two years with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli settlement expansion in contested and occupied territories. This is like the Soviet Union having lost a war of wills at the height of its power with Cuba.
The client state trumped the President of the United States — telegraphing to many around the world that President Obama ultimately didn’t have the courage of his convictions and wasn’t able to deploy power and statecraft to achieve the outlines of what he called for in his lofty rhetoric. Obama’s UN General Assembly speech has done nothing to reverse the impression that Netanyahu is the alpha dog in the relationship with President Obama — and this is truly tragic and geostrategically consequential.
Well, at least Obama is consistent . . . equally inept and spineless on foreign policy issues as he is when challenged with domestic policy matters.
Will any Democrat step up to prevent the Republican Party from taking over the White House (any more than it already has with Obama in there)? The President’s apologists can no longer dismiss criticism of this administration by characterizing it as propaganda from Fox News. Matt Taibbi’s recent remark about Obama exemplifies how an increasing number of Americans – from across the political spectrum – feel about our current President:
I just don’t believe this guy anymore, and it’s become almost painful to listen to him.
Wake up, Democrats! Time is of the essence.