Sarah Palin was right. President Obama did blow it. But not for the reasons she stated.
Many pundits on the right are stating that this was a rebuke of his agenda. They point to his approval rating evidence. Now they may be right although some polls show that his approval rating was also hurt because some felt he did not go far enough. Some polls showed that many who opposed the healthcare reform package felt it did not do enough. The same can be said about the stimulus package. Many opposed it because they felt it was not big enough to do any stimulating of a badly hurt economy.
In 2008 the American people gave President Obama a mandate to do what he campaigned on. Change. Americans, tired of the failed Republican economic policies and the GOP attempts of imposing a rightwing social agenda on them, voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party. They gave him huge majorities in both houses and the sentiment went from "Yes We Can" to "Now we will." But something happened to President Obama once he was elected.
The candidate who was audacious and promised bold changes decided that bipartisanship was the way to go. Despite all of the evidence showing it wouldn't work, he decided to take the high road. And by taking the high road he lost the high ground. The president repeatedly reached across the political aisle to seek consensus and compromise. What he got in return was a resounding "No." No on the healthcare reform package. No on the economic stimulus package. No on pretty much everything that the president proposed. But as stubborn as Captain Ahab, he continued to reach for bipartisanship.
With each "no" he received from the Republicans, he gave ground. This only encouraged his political enemies who had been plotting his demise since prior to him being inaugurated. This search for consensus when added to his reluctance to get his hands dirty and his reliance on weak congressional leaders directly led to political stagnation which in turn created stagnation in the economy. This created an enthusiasm gap among the frustrated independents that had flocked to him in 2008.
The bold candidate Obama became the polite President Obama who showed that the only principle he would stand firm on was his belief in bipartisanship. When confronted with an angry opposition, he believed that staying cool projected a better image. Unfortunately, those who voted for him needed actions not an image. And with each capitulation to GOP demands he gained less and less. And the promised changed became watered-down legislation. Healthcare reform, finance reform and the stimulus package were passed with so many loop holes that it would be hard to show that they would have the desired effect.
And with each compromise, the opposition was emboldened to continue to obstruct his agenda. And his refusal to confront the opposition created a huge enthusiasm gap among the true blue progressives. Those supporters, disillusioned by his continued capitulations, failed to show up in 2010. They chose not to fight for someone who would not fight for himself.
So, yes, President Obama blew it. He blew his opportunity to move forward with his agenda. And his stubborn quest for the mythical white whale called bipartisanship doomed the first two years of his term, cost his party the House, and severely hampered whatever agenda he had for the next two years. But if we have learned anything from the GOP the last two years it is that elections and electoral majorities don't matter.
