The Obama problem
Posted By Carlo on July 10, 2012
I’m worried that Mitt Romney will oust Barack Obama in November. For the second month in a row, Romney has outraised the president. The GOP ad buy will probably swamp the Dems, signaling a takeover of the country by Fox News. This is alarming.
I’ve contributed to the Obama campaign, but not as much as I did four years ago, when I had more money and a lot more hope. The Democrats don’t message well. They certainly don’t have the jackboot discipline of the Republicans, who smile and lie and make empty promises. They’re infuriating. But the GOP stays on point, no matter how vacuous and retro.
Obama supporters want me to canvass and phonebank, as I did four years ago. I probably will later this summer. I think Obama has been a decent president, in the face of ridiculous odds: a disastrous economy he inherited from Dubya, a Congress ruled by purists eager to return to the 18th century, and a Democratic party that can’t even explain its successes, let alone trumpet them. But he’s been disappointing, and his message—that progress is a slog and he’s not to blame for the country’s sorry condition—isn’t inspiring.
I hope the speeches Obama makes from now on and his debates with Romney will resurrect the man I believed in so fervently four years ago. I need mojo, not malaise.
Carlo – the problem is that, regardless of your ideology, he’s a likeable enough fellow (as he characterized Hilary), but he’s a terrible president and he’s in way, way over his head.
I think he’s a pretty good president and anybody in this job would be over his or her head.