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Anything but a 'centrist'

Henry Oliner, February 07, 2010

In the February 1, 2010, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham writes in "The Winter of Our Discontent" that "there is a curious disconnect  between the voter's anger and the realities of his (Obama's) policies." He  adds, "The preponderance of Obama's proposals is so essentially centrist, though, that many a Republican president would find himself pretty close to Obama on the issues."

Many  independents voted for Obama because they deemed him centrist, and rejected him in the recent  interim elections because the reality is otherwise. The vague notions of "Hope" and "Change" became the specifics of the Union Card Check Bill, Cap and trade, higher taxes, record deficits, further bailouts, and foreign policy missteps.  I find none of these first year efforts  to be centrist.

It was our disastrous misstep in Honduras that showed the president's real political heart.  When Honduras was in a turmoil after rejecting an attempt from President Zelaya  to overturn constitutional term limits with an illegal election, with Hugo Chavez's material support; Obama's instinct was to side with Chavez and Raul Castro.   The Courts and Congress of Honduras, a democratic  ally, was upholding their law and constitution and we stood with the man trying to gain illegal power. We revoked the passport  visas of their court and officials while Chavez freely visited to condemn us. How centrist is that?

Whether it is in Honduras or in the United States,  it seems that constitutional law is just a roadblock to his anointed vision of what is right for the ignorant and ‘disconnected' masses.

Yes,  many liberals are disappointed because he added troops to the war in Afghanistan and because the Health Care bill is only a disfigured shell of the nationalized single payer system they wanted. But this does not make him a centrist.  Having  one foot in the freezer and the other in the oven doesn't make you comfortable.

The lure of campaign promises must now be reconciled with the accountability of his actions.  Bush is not responsible for the far left job killing legislation passed in 2009 or the fiasco in Honduras. The voters do not look at a policy and see left and right or center. They see good and bad, effective or ineffective. Now that they have seen a year of his actions and results,  they are far less enthralled with his rhetoric.

The problem is not Obama's failure to connect and convince the ‘disconnected' populace of the wisdom of his actions.  He must stop blaming Bush and take responsibility for attempting policies which are anything but centrist,  that the voters are soundly rejecting.

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The article nails it.