I continue to be amazed that there is simply no person bigger than the system in Washington D.C. Barack Obama came into office with nearly 70% approval ratings and an aggressive agenda he was determined to accomplish. Even if you don't agree with his agenda, it seemed he had the political juice to get some of it done. This week's Gallup Poll revelation that his numbers have now dipped below 50 percent is proof that that everyone is vulnerable to the Washington system no matter how great an orator and leader.
The healthcare debate, the economy and a Democratic-controlled congress that doesn't exactly follow his lead all the time have all contributed to this fall from public favor. The Politico has a great article this week about the President's public image challenge and its influencing factors. Check out that article here.
Now some of my more liberal friends would suggest that poor Mr. Obama is suffering from the economy that George Bush gave him. These people would also suggest that the economy was booming when Bush took over all because of a certain former president named Clinton.
I have two things to say to all of this. First, no one man, not even the president, can so affect financial markets as to cause them to rise or fall this significantly. Our own greed got us here. So enough with the Bush-bashing on this one. Bushy had other issues, but this simply is not his fault. Unfortunately for Obama, everyone thought of him as the chosen one who could fix any problem. Guess what, no one can single handedly fix a problem this big.
Second, Obama is also suffering because he didn't learn from the past. When the Clinton's, who were wildly popular as well, took on healthcare it turned into a rotten egg they would not soon forget. Maybe the Senate will take some positive action on this healthcare bill today. Who knows, they may even eventually pass Obama's bill. But the political cost has been heavy and the poll numbers show it.
Obama's got an uphill climb and he continues to find the D.C. machine beating him down. That's why he is my choice for this week's Roasted in D.C.
