Leftward...doh!

Generally I am not a fan of David Brooks. But his recent column is the latest I've seen that backs up my assertion that Obama is poisoning the Left - and will kill it.

The party is led by insular liberals from big cities and the coasts, who neither understand nor sympathize with moderates. They have their own cherry-picking pollsters, their own media and activist cocoon, their own plans to lavishly spend borrowed money to buy votes.

My thought on this is simple enough: Obama is not a liberal. At least in the FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, LBJ, Bobby Kennedy sense. Or a progressive like Teddy Roosevelt. Those leaders used their bully pulpits to put forth an agenda - a government agenda - that was geared toward helping people. Obama's agenda is geared toward paying off constituencies and is sheep dipped in the disastrous identity politics of the last 40 years. Corruption on the Right eventually morphs into corporatism - which we saw under Cheney. Corruption on the Left drifts into more obvious and cynical payoffs to specific groups. The "stimulus" bill being the latest grand example.

Obama compounds the problem by being a surprisingly weak executive - proving Hillary right again. He's allowed congress to mold his major agenda items - keeping a distance that looks not like wisdom, but sloth. I'm more convinced than ever that unless Obama will be adored in the process he doesn't invest much effort. One simply cannot imagine LBJ disengaging from Congress on any of his Great Society legislation. Then again Obama's never done any heavy lifting - always merely showing up at the last moment for the credit. Presidents can't play that game and and expect any respect from the hundreds of over sized egos on Capitol Hill. I am even a bit shocked at Obama's foolish decision to be so hands off. It is more akin to Coolidge than either Roosevelt.

The result: The stimulus is a galling display of wasted money. Cap and trade is a convoluted mess. The House health care bill contains some provisions that seem to actively seek to destroy the Democratic party. Please read A Toxic Health Care Proposal for more information.

The nation DID NOT GO LEFT last November. It didn't go Right either. The direction was simply - away from Bush. Pelosi, Reid, Obama and their handlers gravely mistook the election results. Or, they are too arrogant to care.

Now that the House and Senate bills are nearly complete Obama has decided to campaign. This is...well, how shall I put it? ...inexperience with a big dollop of arrogance on top. In fact, he may have made the exact same mistake as Clinton. Mrs. Clinton shut herself off - removing us and her husband's bully pulpit from the process until it was too late. Obama let congress do the work, removing himself from the process until now - and it may be too late. The latest polls are not good.

On the other hand - he may pull it off. If he fails to get something that looks vaguely like reform - for him at least - the ride down hill will be bumpy, steep and fast.

Regardless, if the health care is as big a jumbled mess as the other two major Obama bills so far - the Left is dead...dead...dead...and it should have seen the grim reaper coming....all the way from Chicago.