Winging It In Washington

Jennifer Rubin simply nails a topic that has been circulating and percolating in the political dialogue for months, to wit, “that there is no there there” when it comes to the Obama administration. Using the latest comeuppance, the failed Olympics bid on behalf of the city of Chicago, Rubin notes:

Both the rebuff and the Obama team’s stunned reaction (to the Olympics failure) have stripped the veneer from the Obama mystique. Suddenly, the entire country realizes that that there is no “master plan” behind what Obama does. In fact, there may be no plan at all.

Obama’s frosty demeanor, his upending of the Clinton machine in the Democratic primary, and his smooth presidential campaign helped create the myth that he was in control of all events and could see two or three moves ahead.

Could it be that Obama is not, in fact, a sophisticated analyst and astute policy wonk but merely has led a charmed political life, benefiting from a series of inept opponents (think Alan Keyes, the snarling infighters in Hillaryland, and the McCain gang-that-couldn’t-shoot-straight), a sycophantic media, and an electorate willing to give him every benefit of the doubt? It might just be that neither he nor his advisers have thought through much of anything because they convinced themselves that they had the secret weapon, the gravity-defying political colossus.

There is a confluence of events that is having the effect of exposing this President as a politician that was enormously over promised and under delivered; an unvetted, untested and obscure politician that is failing before our very eyes. In looking back over the last several months there were telling signs of what is clearly seen today as the epitome of a politician in over his head. It began with the President’s promise on inauguration day to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay (with no plan in place to accomplish that directive). Following that, in no particular order, was the failed Stimulus legislation , the CIA interrogation investigation flip flop, the government takeover of the car companies, the Louis Gates fubar , a total disregard for unemployment, the inept handling of ObamaCare , the wasted political capital on Cap and Trade, the European missile shield betrayal and the failure to implement a previously stated Afghanistan policy.

As Rubin noted, it is apparent that this administration has not thought through much of anything, instead relying on heaping portions of chutzpah to wrestle their way through crisis after crisis. Gambling the prestige of the office of the President on a foolish, poorly considered wager for the Olympics was just the latest blunder. That doesn’t inspire much confidence, does it? But at least we know what we are dealing with.

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