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There were no economic or cultural bonds among his coalition. He was all things to all people. Charisma ruled.
The current troubles of the Obama presidency can be read back into its beginnings. Rule by personal charisma has met its proper fate. The spell has been broken, and the magician stands exposed. We need no pollsters to tell us of the loss of faith in Mr. Obama's policiesand, more significantly, in the man himself. Charisma is like that. Crowds come together and they project their needs onto an imagined redeemer. The redeemer leaves the crowd to its imagination: For as long as the charismatic moment lastsa year, an erathe redeemer is above and beyond judgment. He glides through crises, he knits together groups of varied, often clashing, interests. Always there is that magical moment, and its beauty, as a reference point.
....
In 2008, seeing the Obama crowds in Portland, Denver and St. Louis spurred memories of the spectacles that had attended the rise and fall of Arab political pretenders. I had lived through the era of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdul Nasser. He had emerged from a military cabal to become a demigod, immune to judgment. His followers clung to him even as he led the Arabs to a catastrophic military defeat in the Six Day War of 1967. He issued a kind of apology for his performance. But his reign was never about policies and performance. It was about political magic.
....
Five years on, we can still recall how the Obama coalition was formed. There were the African-Americans justifiably proud of one of their own. There were upper-class white professionals who were drawn to the candidate's "cool." There were Latinos swayed by the promise of immigration reform. The white working class in the Rust Belt was the last bloc to embrace Mr. Obamahe wasn't one of them, but they put their reservations aside during an economic storm and voted for the redistributive state and its protections. There were no economic or cultural bonds among this coalition. There was the new leader, all things to all people.
A nemesis awaited the promise of this new presidency: Mr. Obama would turn out to be among the most polarizing of American leaders. No, it wasn't his race, as Harry Reid would contend, that stirred up the opposition to him. It was his exalted views of himself, and his mission. The sharp lines were sharp between those who raised his banners and those who objected to his policies.
America holds presidential elections, we know. But Mr. Obama took his victory as a plebiscite on his reading of the American social contract. A president who constantly reminded his critics that he had won at the ballot box was bound to deepen the opposition of his critics.
A leader who set out to remake the health-care system in the country, a sixth of the national economy, on a razor-thin majority with no support whatsoever from the opposition party, misunderstood the nature of democratic politics. An election victory is the beginning of things, not the culmination. With Air Force One and the other prerogatives of office come the need for compromise, and for the disputations of democracy. A president who sought consensus would have never left his agenda on Capitol Hill in the hands of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
Mr. Obama has shown scant regard for precedent in American history. ....
Mr. Obama has shown scant regard for precedent in American history. ....
But he has taught the nation a priceless lesson about the perils of liberal hubris.
Does it matter which of you are right so long as Obamacare rewards the unteachable for moving to compliant states while jobs and investment move to non-compliant states?But he has taught the nation a priceless lesson about the perils of liberal hubris.
47% of the voting population is un-teachable.
Well, I disagree with that.
I think the floor might be around 35%.
Given that there are enough safe seat Ds in the house to prevent reform or repeal until 2017 and after 2017 no payback for the hoops needed to be compliant this bill will never vanish it will just apply to an ever shrinking number of states.Doesn't look good for the Messiah. Even Fouad throwing him under the bus.
But he has taught the nation a priceless lesson about the perils of liberal hubris.
47% of the voting population is un-teachable.
Well, I disagree with that.
I think the floor might be around 35%.
47% of the voting population is un-teachable.
Well, I disagree with that.
I think the floor might be around 35%.
Romney and I both disagree with YOU!
Conservative talk radio made a booboo and I think Romney picked the number up from them. Republicans seriously gotta tighten up their rhetoric. 
Mr. Obama has shown scant regard for precedent in American history. ....
Instead of just a white man screwing us it is now a black man.
Well, I disagree with that.
I think the floor might be around 35%.
Romney and I both disagree with YOU!
Meanwhile, I take heart from the slippage shown here:
President Obama Job Approval
RCP Average
Approve 41.5
Disapprove 54.2
Spread -12.7
Get real there was no chance of getting rid of Obama in 2012. Romney was not going to be able to fix Obamacare and knew it. Would you have tried to win that suicide slot and get your own party blamed for this mess?Romney and I both disagree with YOU!
Meanwhile, I take heart from the slippage shown here:
President Obama Job Approval
RCP Average
Approve 41.5
Disapprove 54.2
Spread -12.7
I personally want to know who Romney's handlers were that would not allow him to go on even the most friendly talk conservative shows.
Even Laura was freaking out that finally someone in Romneys camp let Ingram have two seconds with them.
You want to know why Romney lost? He fucked over the conservative base.
Plain and simple.
