Obama's Lack of Leadership: The Change Agenda At a Crossroads

For some time I and a number of other liberal bloggers - certainly a number at Bilerico and AmericaBlog - have been lamenting Barack Obama's failure to deliver on campaign promises, not only on LGBT issues, but basically everything. Obama has taken a position of great strength and public support and basically squandered it. His poor leadership style, failure to aggressively go after "blue dog Democrats who favor the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries more the American families, and delusional quest for bipartisan support - something the GOP will NEVER cooperate in - has made a ruin of health care reform. Moreover, his poor, gutless leadership may well cause a GOP sweep in Virginia in November - a sweep by the most reactionary and backward thinking slate in recent memory in Virginia. Indeed, all that the GOP statewide slate lacks is a white supremacist in terms of reactionary thinking. The Washington Post has a story that looks at the mess and speculates whether Obama can snatch victory back from disaster and save his plummeting popularity:

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As President Obama's senior advisers gathered at Blair House at the end of July for a two-day review of their first six months in office, what was meant to be a breath-catching moment of reflection was colored by a sense of unease. But opinion polls showed support for the president and his policies dipping sharply, and the disheartening numbers had shaken the confidence of some of Obama's staff. Vice President Biden addressed the anxiousness when the Cabinet and senior staff met in the State Dining Room in the White House residence the next morning. "Did you really think this was going to be easy?" Biden said, according to one participant.

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The slide has only quickened. Emerging from an angry August recess, Obama is weakened politically and faces growing concerns, particularly from within his own party, over his strength as a leader. Dozens of interviews this summer in six states -- from Maine to California -- have revealed a growing angst and disappointment over the administration's present course.

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Democratic officials and foot soldiers, who have experienced the volatile public mood firsthand, are asking Obama to take a more assertive approach this fall. His senior advisers say he will, beginning with his Wednesday address to Congress on health care.

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[H]e is entering a period when consensus may not be possible on the issues most important to his administration and party. Whatever approach he takes is likely to upset some of his most ardent supporters, many of whom are unwilling to compromise at a time when Democrats control the White House and Congress.

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"Until last week, he was still trying to play ball with the Republicans who said, 'We're going to bring you down,' " said Karen Davis, 42, a musician from Jersey City who raised funds for Obama last year. "Now I'm thinking, 'This isn't what I voted for.' "

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"At the root of his difficulties is a misperception on his part of the root cause of the problem," said Obama critic Sean Wilentz, a Princeton University professor and presidential scholar. "He sees the problem as Washington. Fine. But the basic cause is the evolution of the Republican Party."

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Later, in an interview, Grayson said his advice for the president based on his experiences this recess is "to not only combat the lies, but to combat the liars." "He must recognize that he has reached out his hand to the Republican leadership and they have spat on it," he said. . . . Beyond the Beltway, many Democrats say they would be less afraid if Obama appeared less fearful himself, including on issues such as race and the legacy of torture that he has eloquently addressed in the past. In office, Obama has tended to view those subjects largely as distractions from his reform ambitions.

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Axelrod said the White House has been receiving advice, much of it unsolicited, to push back harder against the opposition, particularly as the health-care debate heads into the fall legislative session. He said the president intends to do so, but on his own terms. "He's not going to get punked or pushed around," Axelrod said. "On the other hand, I don't think he's going to fill his day with gratuitous partisan back-and-forth, because it isn't productive and it's not healthy."

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In my view, the current GOP is acting like the classic class bully who thinks he/she can lie and get away with anything and everything. The only way that attitude can be undone is by playing hardball right back and punching the bully in the mouth. To date, Obama has acted like a cowering sissy trying to placate the bully rather than face the threats and lies head on. I still believe that there is chance to turn things around, but Obama needs to grow a spine NOW and go on the offensive against those who think nothing of deliberately lying and fabricating untruths - even as in the next breath they claim to patriots and to honor Christian values.