Posted by
Bill Crawford on Monday, September 05, 2011 7:36:37 PM
I do not pretend to be a psychiatrist, and it is such a subjective science at the individual level that I deign to even guess motivation.
But I have learned a little about behavior along the way, and when somebody runs into a wall (is in need of intervention), there are some real similarities and patterns to be observed.
Early in August, Obama had scheduled a vacation with the family in Martha's Vineyard. August is a good time for it, because in full French fashion, most of Washington D.C. takes the month off. The funny thing this time was, the round of economic reports coming in before Obama left town was bad enough to merit his announcement that he would be coming out with a shiny new jobs plan- after he came back. Those of you out there that still can't find a job would wait until he got some R&R.
Despite the fact that nobody forced him to take this position on, nobody on this end thinks a White House vacation is a sin- it is a pressure cooker of a job, and his briefings and communications follow him wherever he goes. But the announcement of a plan before he left, but only after he was back, smells of burnout.
All along, he and his minions have been passing out excuses by the hatful for the bad economy. The economy Bush left us was worse than we thought. It was the Japanese earthquake. It is the Wall Street greedheads, sitting on their cash. It was the BP oil spill. It is the greedy oil companies keeping gas prices up. It is the speculators buying gold (cheered on by Glenn Beck). It is the hurricane season. It is the obstructionist Republicans in Congress. It is all getting to the point where I am listening to John Belushi in the tunnel near the end of "The Blues Brothers", explaining to Carrie Fisher why he left her at the altar. (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TuLBa-rgBk )
Here is my experience with intervention cases: many managed to maintain employment and relationships despite destructive behavior, but those who ended up in places like A.A. and moved to a better place will tell you about a universal- the last month or so before they hit the wall, they thought they were the unluckiest people on Earth. Nothing went their way. And all their travails were somebody else's fault.
Here is your problem, Mr. President. You are fond of starting off speeches by talking about how we should all focus on the problem, act like adults and rise above partisanship. Then a paragraph later, you'll rail on about all the people who are standing in your way and acting in stead of the rich and special interests. It doesn't take a partisan to realize that calling Republicans "hostage takers" poses little incentive for cooperation. There is a reason why you lost many Independents who got you elected, and it all starts with crap like that rolling out of your open mouth.
This was all punctuated by your request to Congress last week for a joint session speech time. This all waited a month for you to get back to Washington, and you needed to do it Tuesday- it was only a coincidence that it was the same night as a long scheduled Republican debate? You thought nobody would see through that?
So Boehner gave your bull right back to you with his own. Sorry, we are holding our first vote at 6:30 PM, and you know it takes a few hours to security scan the chamber for you, so how about Wednesday? Oh, that's the NFL opener? What a coincidence!
I feel for the guy. The right thinks he is a disaster. His supporters think he is a milquetoast who keeps playing chicken and blinking first. And his approval ratings in the low forties show exactly how many independents have left him.
Clinton had his head handed to him in the '94 elections, and he changed his methodology. His "triangulation" didn't help him any with his base, but it got him re-elected. Obama and his people are still convinced that they have the right policies, and this is simply a communication problem.
Like all intervention cases, he will not look into the mirror to see where his problems are. And there doesn't seem to be anybody around him who will help him with that. Obama's closest advisor is... Obama.
There will be nothing new or surprising in this speech. The White House is smart enough to know that their proposals are dead in the Congressional water, and that they are hoping for a boost from the posturing.
What does that tell you?