Editorial - 28 December 2011
Obama's Political Games
B altimore Sun Commentator Jules Witcover’s latest work of fantasy calls out Republican Mitt Romney for his “absurd” accusations that the Obama administration is “the most political presidency we have seen in modern history”.
Witcover uses several previous incidents as proof that other administrations have been more political than the current one.
One example, Bill Clinton’s sale of the Lincoln bedroom, certainly displays bad taste by the former president, but wewouldn’t call it a purely political move, nor a particularly effective way of fundraising. In another example, Witcover points out the misdeeds of the Nixon years, from burglary and bribery to massive lying and high-level cover-up. There's no doubt that the break in of the DNC Watergate office was certainly done in an attempt to gain political advantage, but outside of that there appeared to be little other political posturing by the Nixon Administration relative to other administrations. The cover-ups were there, but they weren’t political, more along the lines of the Obama administrations Operation Fast and Furious scandal. Scandal yes, but typical presidential scandals not indicative of a pattern of political maneuvering.
Compare these infractions to the Obama white house. Obama repeatedly criticized the Supreme Court during his State of the Nation address, showing a disdain for precedent and a purely political ploy designed to whoop his hyenas into a frenzy. The Obama administration has funneled unconceivable amounts of money to environmentalists, labor unions and other Democrat party supporters while leaving small and large businesses gasping for air. The administration passed a massive health care bill with only Democrat votes, then started granting waivers to their friends and allies who wanted mandatory health care required for other people, but not for themselves (many of whom, apparently, live in former House Speaker Pelosi’s district). The administration stopped deportations of many illegal immigrants, and sued states that attempted to get a handle on illegal immigration, all to the detriment of the nation and for purely political reasons. The administration tacked on billions of dollars in debt, to be paid back by future generations who can’t currently vote, in a purely political decision designed to buy the votes of current voters while punishing future generations. The administration forced Boeing to put a strategic, job creating South Carolina airplane production facility on hold, instead trying to force the airline to build the plant in a pro-union state, an obvious payback to union voters but a counterproductive ploy in times of high unemployment.
The list goes on and on. From forgiveness of college loans, to attacks on voter security measures, to the wholesale purchase of auto manufacturing companies coupled with sweetheart incentives to union employees, to the ill-advised bankrolling of Solyndra, this administration has done very little that isn’t politically motivated. The czar appointments have been ideologues all, and it shows. The mantra has been rewarding friends and punishing enemies, and the only time bipartisanship has been attempted is when the administration feels that their backs are against a wall, such as was the case with the unpopular health care debacle.
Lastly, wewould point out that Gallup reviewed the partisan approval gaps between Democrats and Republicans during presidential second years and found that Obama's 68 percentage point gap is the largest since 1953. This is indicative of a partisan, political White House, not one that favors reaching across the aisle and moderation, as viewed by the American people.
Whether or not the current administration is the most political in modern history someone else can figure out, but it’s certainly not out of bounds to suggest such a thing, and not even remotely an absurd suggestion. In truth, the president has done a little better than wethought he would on foreign affairs and a little worse than wethought he would on domestic economic matters. But the real disappointment has been the partisanship and political posturing displayed by this administration, despite the promise of change and reform in our political system. It all started when the president reneged on his promise to accept federal campaign funding during the general election, and went downhill from there.
Editor - bethesite.com
