On issues large and small, I believe the Obama administration has a competence problem.
On the biggest issues, his major legislative initiatives, he has displayed little or indifferent leadership, at best. He essentially turned the stimulus and health care reform over to Nancy and the Gang in congress and they both became runaway disasters for the President. This week, he is giving a Hail Mary, joint session speech to the American people to try and rescue his healthcare reform efforts. This is not a move from a position of strength. By trying to Rham through a 1000-page bill that would shift 18% of the economy into the hands of the American government before the August recess, the president offended many and really eroded the trust people had placed in him. Change is one thing, three card monti with something as personal as healthcare is another.
On the small issues, let’s take a look at another speech this week, to America’s school children. This should have been a layup for the administration. Instead, because of arrogance and overreach, it has become yet another cluster for President Obama. In my opinion, it should not be controversial for the president to address school children. George H.W. Bush did it, Reagan did it, Clinton did too. How tough is it to tell kids to listen to their teachers, study hard and they can achieve their dreams in America. Well, that is clearly too much to ask from an administration with as large a sense of self purpose as this one. The controversy began when the Education Department published supporting materials for teachers will lesson plans for students asking questions like “what can I do to help the president”. Somebody in the department should have known better. Someone should have asked, “isn’t this creepy going too far, are we politicizing this? No, those questions weren’t asked and a simple speech has turned into another example of overreach and arrogance.
Van Jones, well he isn’t large or small, but he is incredibly revealing. How is a guy like this deemed acceptable by this administration? What did they know and what did they choose to ignore. If you believe Barack’s BFF Valerie Jarrett, they knew all about Van Jones and were thrilled to have him on the team. This is a disaster for Obama on several levels. It shows his rhetoric about a new kind of post-partisan politics to be a crock. Van Jones greatest hits include a little didy about George Bush licking a crack pipe. It shows, once again, that our president is comfortable in the company of people many, many Americans find loathsome. Like who? How about his spiritual mentor of 20-years Rev. Wright. Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. Now Van Jones can be added to the Motley Crew that Barack Obama calls friends. The most fascinating thing about Van Jones isn’t what it tells us about Obama (we knew he had a soft spot for leftist radicals), it is what it says about his second protective unit, the mainstream media. The Van Jones controversy was a creation of the alternative media. Kudos to Glenn Beck for pushing this on Fox, and to Gateway Pundit for pushing in the blogosphere. A White House tzar was forced to resign in disgrace with hardly a word from the major media in the country. Few things demonstrate the media’s fealty to Barack Obama or their irrelevancy, more than the Van Jones episode.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.