Time to Get Tough?

Where's the change? -- Picture courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
In today's paper, Richard Cohen has an op-ed piece, "The President Seems Lost". The article talks about two gathering debacles in Obamas first term -- the health care overhaul and the Afghan war. Neither one of these were prominent issues under George W. Bush; of all the many things we want to hang on Dubya, these can’t be included. We were only shin, not neck deep in Afghanistan when Obama came to office.

In analyzing the problem, Cohen describes Obama’s style as a deliberate coolness, maybe “too cool for school”. Obama wants to be seen as some kind of ultimate, unifying force – always above the fray. The problem is, we have a barroom brawl on our hands (with health care) and a punch may need to be thrown.

If we travel back 8 years to 2001, Bush came in describing himself as a “uniter, not a divider”. Events quickly disabused us of this idea, and Bush himself pretty quickly disposed of it saying, “You’re either with me or against me”. From 2001 on, Bush had a partisan presidency – there was no mincing of words whatever else there might have been. Virtually every turn made was rightward lurch, with no dilly-dallying.

Pundits other than Cohen seem to reaching similar conclusions about Obama. Bill Mahr was a guest on Conan O’Brien last night and must have been reading Cohen’s notes. He said that because Obama seems to emphasize cool style over substantive actions, he risks being at the helm of a failed or disemboweled health initiative. Using words that sound very nearly insane (if taken out of context), Mahr suggested that Obama take a page from Bush and press his own agenda. Be as forceful as necessary.

The thing is, Republicans don’t want health care reform in any fashion. They are happy with the private insurance setup that we have. They would also like to hang a health care failure around Obama’s neck. Blue dog Democrats present a large enough problem, pressing for private co-ops as a half-hearted alternative to a public insurance option. There is no compromise with the GOP and barely a compromise with the blue dogs. What is a highly charismatic, young President to do?

Mr. Cohen says that Obama runs the risk of seeming hollow, stylistic, even light-weight if he lets the tail wag the dog in either health care or the war in Afghanistan. As we speak, the President’s family is enjoying a much-needed vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. When he comes back, Obama needs to reject the role of a glad-handing, Chambers of Commerce cheerleader. He might have to square off with somebody, he might have to be tough. He might even have to be brutally direct. He might just have to be President in every sense of the word.

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