Watch for the Lamest Excuse in Politics After a Defeat. If The Democrats Use It, They're Busted.
Nov. 3, 2010
"We didn't get our message across."
This is the proclamation for a die-hard loser. Why? Because the Democrats had two years to get it across. They got it across too well. The voters did not want the package the Democrats rammed through. The voters exercised a veto.
It is difficult for ideologues to face the fact that they got too far ahead of the voters. They want to believe that the voters really share their views. Somehow, the voters missed the message. On the contrary, they got the message.
When your party has been smashed by the voters, the proper way to recover is to say, "The people have spoken. We will work with the new leaders in Congress." And why not? It will be the same old leadership. The newcomers will offer change -- more than usual -- but the Old Boy Network is alive and well. It has not changed since 1933.
The tax-and-spend ideology is on the run. That much is clear. But borrow-and-spend is alive and well. No one will call for a balanced budget between and and 2012. No one will call for a roll-back in Medicare spending. No one will call for a roll-back of Bush's prescription drug law.
The Democrats got their health care agenda through. They will have two years for recipients to get addicted. The Republicans must make a concerted effort to scream bloody murder on this for two years. If they don't, the issue will fall into the traditional budget category. The health care industry will have adjusted. The law will then have its supporters.
Obama prefers being a team player. That is why he let Pelosi be the ramrod for two years. I said this last January. I said it in 2008. So, I think he will offer to cooperate. If he doesn't, he is politically suicidal.
There is something else. He really is not all that interested in politics. Compared to Johnson, Nixon, and the Clintons, he is not consumed with politics. Those who have much contact with him (and who talk about it) say that he is disengaged from policy discussions. He is far more engaged in sports talk. Frankly, I can sympathize. The thought of days spent in political maneuvering is chilling.
He had better speak of the economy as a joint venture. How can the two parties cooperate? What can they agree on? Probably nothing new, but he should offer the olive branch. He should go through the motions of signing a cease-fire. That's all he is likely to get, short of a war with Iran.
If he goes with "we did not get our message across," he is arguing for the stupidity of the voters in not understanding the Democrats' program. The Republicans will know that they can box him in. They will say, "They did understand it, which is why we re-gained the House." They will be on the offensive, confident of a mandate.
Or, to quote Ricky Ricardo, "Barack, you've got some explainin' to do.'"
Bottom line: if the Federal Reserve can't make the economy work, there is nothing that Congress can do that Obama will sign into law to get it to work. If the FED can't get bankers to lend, the economy will not recover.
Nov. 5
Well, Obama invoked it.
Obama also said he recognizes now that "leadership is not just legislation," and that "it's a matter of persuading people. And giving them confidence and bringing them together. And setting a tone. And making an argument that people can understand.""And I think that -- we haven't always been successful at that," he said. "And I take personal responsibility for that. And it's something that I've got to examine closely as I go forward."