Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Thought of the Day
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of President Obama's Inaugural, and it's worth recalling the extraordinary political opportunity he had a year ago. An anxious country was looking for leadership amid a recession, and Democrats had huge majorities and faced a dispirited, unpopular GOP. With monetary policy stimulus already flowing, Democrats were poised to get the political credit for the inevitable economic recovery.
Twelve months later, Mr. Obama's approval rating has fallen further and faster than any recent President's, Congress is despised, the public mood has shifted sharply to the right on the role of government, and a Republican could pick up a Senate seat in a state with no GOP Members of Congress and that Mr. Obama carried by 26 points.
What explains this precipitous political fall? Democrats and their media allies attribute it to GOP obstructionism, though Republicans lack the votes to stop anything by themselves. Or they blame their own Blue Dogs, who haven't stopped or even significantly modified any legislation of consequence.
Or they blame an economic agenda that wasn't populist or liberal enough because it didn't nationalize banks and spend even more on 'stimulus.' It takes a special kind of delusion to believe, amid a popular revolt against too much government spending and debt, that another $1 trillion would have made all the difference. But that's the latest left-wing theme.
Wall Street Journal
A special kind of delusion indeed. The Scott heard round the world might penetrate the minds of the more astute Democrats, but there is little hope of a helpful learning curve for President Obama or the current Democratic leadership. Heck, if introspection were explosives the Democratic leadership couldn't blow their noses. Look at the left liberal elites. E. J. Dionne and his ilk are blaming the Republicans for the unpopularity of the Democrat 'borrow and spenders' and Paul Krugman and his ilk are saying that the Democrats did not squander enough of the borrowed money failing to create jobs.
The fault is not in your stars but in yourselves.
Twelve months later, Mr. Obama's approval rating has fallen further and faster than any recent President's, Congress is despised, the public mood has shifted sharply to the right on the role of government, and a Republican could pick up a Senate seat in a state with no GOP Members of Congress and that Mr. Obama carried by 26 points.
What explains this precipitous political fall? Democrats and their media allies attribute it to GOP obstructionism, though Republicans lack the votes to stop anything by themselves. Or they blame their own Blue Dogs, who haven't stopped or even significantly modified any legislation of consequence.
Or they blame an economic agenda that wasn't populist or liberal enough because it didn't nationalize banks and spend even more on 'stimulus.' It takes a special kind of delusion to believe, amid a popular revolt against too much government spending and debt, that another $1 trillion would have made all the difference. But that's the latest left-wing theme.
Wall Street Journal
A special kind of delusion indeed. The Scott heard round the world might penetrate the minds of the more astute Democrats, but there is little hope of a helpful learning curve for President Obama or the current Democratic leadership. Heck, if introspection were explosives the Democratic leadership couldn't blow their noses. Look at the left liberal elites. E. J. Dionne and his ilk are blaming the Republicans for the unpopularity of the Democrat 'borrow and spenders' and Paul Krugman and his ilk are saying that the Democrats did not squander enough of the borrowed money failing to create jobs.
The fault is not in your stars but in yourselves.
Labels: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board quote
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 10:55 AM 
