The Curious Case of Barack Obama

A friend of mine wondered on Facebook whether the Republicans feel bad for the beating they are administering to Obama right now. If this were Little League we might have to enforce the mercy rule.

I always imagined I would be Obama's last defender. It still frustrates me that the left has not embraced the immense challenge and accomplishment the passage of health care reform was and is.

However the current debate over tax cuts and unemployment compensation has me contemplating whether or not to jump ship. I remarked to my friend that Obama's skills as a politician seem to be regressing as he gains more experience. He appears to be the Benjamin Button of politicians.

Thinking back to the primary against Hillary Clinton it is still shocking that Obama was able to defeat the most popular, powerful and effective political family in modern Democratic politics. It seemed that it was Bill and Hillary, especially Bill, who seemed to stumble and bungle the politics of the primary. Who can forget Bill's attempted racial belittling of Obama's victory in South Carolina. It seemed the old pro had lost his touch and a new superstar was born.

But Obama's current weakness started to become apparent during the stimulus debate at the beginning of his term. After much publicized wining and dining of conservatives Obama began the debate over the stimulus bill with a good faith nod to Republicans by including $350 billion in tax cuts and credits in the $900 billion stimulus plan. He was rewarded with an astonishing zero Republican votes in the House and three in the Senate. One of those three, Arlen Specter, was driven out of his party as a result.

This one-way negotiation strategy continued into the health care debate which was nearly derailed when Obama and Senate Democrats let the infamous "Gang of Six" drag negotiations on for an entire summer while Tea Party activists sabotaged the debate in town halls throughout the country. Obama's decision to go all in after the devastating Scott Brown election is still maybe his finest moment and may make all his smaller failures moot in the long run.

Now after the midterm elections Obama appears to letting Republicans fight to protect tax cuts for millionaires while simultaneously cutting off benefits for the those struggling with unemployment. Obama's response? A pathetic attempt at pandering to the deficit hawks with an unsollicited proposal to freeze federal employee pay. A proposal that gets him nothing in return from the Republcians, will fail as a public relations ploy, and will actually do nothing to address the deficit.

When is he going to take a stand? When is he going to pick a fight to illustrate the differences between his priorities and Republican priorities? If the contrast between tax cuts and unemployment insurance does not provide this opportunity I'm not sure what will.

Ted Strickland, former governor of Ohio, and Paul Begala, former aide to President Clinton, agree.

Ted Strickland:

But his frustration was evident as the discussion progressed. Talking, unprompted, about the debate over the expiring Bush tax cuts, Strickland said he was dumbfounded at the party's inability to sell the idea that the rates for the wealthy should be allowed to expire.

"I mean, if we can't win that argument we might as well just fold up," he said. "These people are saying we are going to insist on tax cuts for the richest people in the country and we don't care if they are paid for, and we don't think it is a problem if it contributes to the deficit, but we are not going to vote to extend unemployment benefits to working people if they aren't paid for because they contribute to the deficit. I mean, what is wrong with that? How can it be more clear?"

Here is Paul Begala begging Obama to stop making unilateral concessions to Republicans. The impetus for his comments here was Obama's announcement he would be freezing federal workers pay.

My only hope is that Obama is playing rope-a-dope with the Republicans, feigning weakness to entice the GOP to overreach, and then using their aggression to his advantage. The confluence of the tax cuts/unemployment insurance debates is the time to start fighting back.