It doesn’t look good for the President. Three years into his Presidency, the economy is still in turmoil. Europe is sinking. Liberals are dissatisfied with his leadership. Nothing seems to be working for him.
The question is why? Given the problems that were seen so long ago, why is it that the President hasn’t done better if he knew, and he did know, how serious those problems were.
No Experience
He was not ready for the office. Unfortunately, for the country, he was a very good speaker, and alternatively, John McCain was a very terrible speaker. The individual choice was clear, but one where both political parties failed the country.
When the President ran in 2008, more people put their own hopes into the candidate than was realistically expected. He entered the race, not as a seasoned political veteran but as a hopeful candidate (his words, not mine).
His experience was fraught with emptiness. In the Illinois Senate he voted present 127 times. In the US Senate he did not push through any legislation; he was on the sidelines for most of the tenure.
Other than political experience, which he showed very little, he has very little civil leadership experience either. His connection to the Altgeld Gardens public housing project in the 1980’s where he was a community organizer was a focal point for him. It did him how to connect with people in the community, but he never learned how to champion his work to accomplish his goals or those of the community.
Later at the University of Chicago, his tenure was artificial as a law professor. He never published any works on the law, and never took a position of leadership in the Law School
Never Beat Up
One of the things that makes a political leader what he/she is is the number of battles that he/she has been engaged in. They learn to fight, to withdraw, to compromise, to assess their friends and opponents. The President did not have that training or experience. Hence, he did not develop a feeling for a political position; or how his friends or opponents would receive it.
Political fights are where a politician learns what is important. The President didn’t get that education.
Hope for the Best
In the 1990’s Jesse Ventura, former Navy Seal, Professional Wrestler, actor, and television talk show host became governor of Minnesota. He ran on the Reform Party platform as a fiscal conservative and social liberal. He had a lot of publicity and was admired by many people, except the ones that mattered in the Minnesota legislature. He accomplished little and did not seek re-election in 2003.
In California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, body builder, and actor became the Republican governor of California in 2003. With a lot of media exposure and attention, he had early victories and even won reelection for a second term. But his second term was fraught with defeats on multiple legislative initiatives. The citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Schwarzenegger one of 11 “worst governors” in the United States. His tenure ended in 2011.
Both of these cases show that the media hype can allow a candidate to enter a political position without the proper credentials of experience under their belt.
In 2008, the public expectations and the media attention to candidate Obama was sky high. His “audacity of hope” platform was enough to entice millions to vote for him even though he clearly was not Presidential material. He was a glass half empty, but people and the press put their own expectations to into the glass to fill it.
The problem with all three of these examples is that there were entrenched interests, either liberal or conservative, that were not going to budge, no matter what the press said, or what the popular public opinion held. Too many people forgot that and so candidate Obama became President on the hope and prayers of the voters. They were hoping for the best, but forgetting the real issues that were present and that a man with no political experience would not be able to solve them.
President Rahm Emanuel
After President Obama took office in January 2009, he appointed Rahm Emanuel, former Congressman from Illinois to become White House Chief of Staff. His impact as Chief of Staff was enormous, with the New York Times saying that he was “perhaps the most influential chief of staff of a generation.”
The Times went on to say: “He knows how to pull all the levers of influence in Washington – raising money, mobilizing interest groups and harvesting the latest policy ideas from research groups. At the same time, his relentless campaign-style approach sometimes leaves some colleagues worried they spend too much time reacting to events.”
One of the most important legislative acts proposed by the President was the universal health care initiative and Emanuel was instrumental in getting it passed through Congress.
Another was the relationship between the US and Israel, which Emanuel was pushing to support settlement negotiations.
In these cases, President Obama gained from the actions of Rahm Emanuel. This leaves one to wonder if the legislation that is the hallmark of the President’s term would have occurred without Emanuel present to push for it.
Since he resigned in 2010 from the White House position, President Obama has not had any significant legislative victories that he can claim to.
Glass Half Empty or Half Full?
This points to the fact that the President, after three years, is still a political novice. And this underscores the problems that he continues to have. He doesn’t know how to deal with other politicians and get his way. So after three years, the glass is not half empty, it is empty.