Things have not been going particularly well recently for President Obama. The impotency of the administration to do anything about the oil spill in the Gulf must be a tremendous frustration for an administration that has become accustomed to getting its way and staying on top of things. Despite Obama's speeches, admonitions, and threats, oil is still pouring into the Gulf. Iran has proved no less stubborn in thwarting the administration. They, like the spill in the Gulf, have proved resistant to the administration's attempts to affect the situation. Obama's numerous speeches and somber warnings have done nothing to thwart Iran's continuing nuclear efforts. The situation in Israel is worse than it has been in many years. The economy is still foundering. The situation in Afghanistan has shown little improvement. The list goes on.
Obama is increasingly indignant with those deemed to be behind the growing calamity in the Gulf. He has been delivering one harsh speech after another while his calculated anger grows. Meanwhile, the situation in the Gulf continues to deteriorate and the sense of the government's inability to do anything about it mounts.
In the Middle East, tension is growing. Iran's defiance has only increased. Obama's inability to rally erstwhile allies such as Turkey to the cause is a sign of America's decreasing influence in the region. The failure to make progress in Afghanistan reflects the limits of U.S. power to bring about its stated goals. His diffidence in pursuing U.S. interests around the world has emboldened nations like China to pursue their own agendas rather than deferring to the global principles and conventions the U.S. has long championed.
Obama seems determined to get back into the win column and shore up his image as a take charge president. To this end he is once again going after the tobacco companies and has dispatched his wife on a mission to "support the troops." Obama's move to go back to the well and make another effort to crush the tobacco industry is a politically safe and increasingly popular tactic. No one supports the tobacco industry but the people who work in it and those who are addicted to it. It is all but impossible to mount a defense for it beyond appealing to the principles of liberty and the free market.
Few any longer recognize the individual liberty to live one's life as one sees fit: especially if that lifestyle is ill advised. You cannot live your life if your lifestyle is seen to adversely affect society or economy. This amounts to a blank check to regulate the behavior of people and meddle in their lives since virtually everything a person does or doesn't do has an impact on the economy. Liberty is no longer an effective defense. Your life and health are no longer your own. You are part of a collective to which your will and appetites must be subordinated. Any appeal to free markets would be wasted on the Obama administration. The poor regard for markets of any sort held by the administration has become abundantly clear over the last two years.
Despite Obama's efforts to change America's behavior and the world, things really haven't improved. People still over eat. People are still greedy and indifferent. Iran is still pursuing nuclear weapons. North Korea still has nuclear weapons. The economy is still languishing. The Middle East is awash in tension and conflict. Oil still continues to flow unabated in the Gulf. His health care victory has not garnered the thanks of a grateful nation but spawned acrimony and conflict. Perhaps worst of all, people are still smoking.
Obama needs a victory. He needs to reestablish himself an effective champion of the people so he has decided forcefully vent his indignation on two industries currently held in very low regard by the public: the tobacco and oil industries. The tobacco industry has become an easy target. Concepts like free markets, liberty, and individual choice stand little chance these days against public indignation and government ire. Smokers and tobacco users will be punished for their sins. Not directly mind you, even that is a step the administration is unwilling to take, but indirectly through slight of hand. He will tax the tobacco dealers into poverty and regulate them into oblivion. The veneer of free markets and liberty must be preserved, but no longer than is absolutely necessary to eviscerate the tobacco industry and strangle its market. As for the free market, over the last two years Obama has clearly demonstrated his lack of faith in the market's ability to manage its affairs and meet the needs of the public.(In fairness, the market recently has done an extraordinary job of creating that impression.)
Little needs to be said of Obama's determination hold the energy industry accountable for the disaster in the Gulf. Despite the government's complicity in the matter: they are the ones, after all, who license and ensure compliance with environmental safety measures and spill prevention procedures, Obama is determined to keep the public eye firmly fixed on the energy industry rather than the government that is supposed to be overseeing that industry.
To refurbish his Commander in Chief image and underline his support for the military, Obama dispatched the First Lady to Camp Pendleton to meet with Marines wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq at Camp Pendleton. By dispatching the First Lady, the administration is simultaneously able to demonstrate its support for the troops and deflect criticism for its handling of the two wars. No one can criticize the First Lady for meeting with injured troops. She will not provoke questions and criticisms of the war effort. She is not to blame for their condition.
Obama is moving vigorously, as is his wont, to keep the public from focusing on any one issue or problem. Any lingering on a particular issue is to Obama's detriment. He has done much, but he has accomplished little. He knows a recent victory is worth ten past failures.
No comments:
Post a Comment