President Obama

The Infatuation Effect (July 17, 2010)

Becky SarwateLeave a comment

obama tired

Rasmussen Reports’ Daily Presidential Tracking Poll puts President Obama’s approval rating for today at an anemic 28%. This figure is released at the end of a good week, by comparison. A huge piece of popular legislation was made reality (financial reform), and the oil spill in the Gulf has been at least temporarily capped.

But here’s a figure even more surprising: a Gallup poll released on Friday found that satisfaction with the direction of the country among members of the President’s own Democratic party has dropped by a fourth since last month. The Commander-in-Chief who has been the shepherd of more “change” than any President since FDR seems to find himself curious stymied by the bi-partisan impression that he can’t get anything done.

Writer Elizabeth Gilbert discusses the topic of infatuation (as opposed to disinterested love) in her latest memoir, Committed, and says the following of the emotional phenomenon: “The problem with infatuation, of course, is that it’s a mirage, a trick of the eye…When you become infatuated with somebody, you’re not really looking at that person; you’re just captivated by your own reflection, intoxicated by a dream of completion that you have projected on a virtual stranger.”

Gilbert was of course, talking about the romantic politics between two individuals, but don’t these ideas offer an equally interesting explanation for the precipitous drop in popularity of “the One?” Surely Obama has always had his enemies, and there are many who have simply disliked the methods and proposals of the President without any strong emotional reaction. What I am speaking of here is the Gallup supported impression that Obama 2008’s most rabid fanatics are also turning from him in droves.

The truth is that infatuation is often closely followed by disillusionment, inspired by the despair in finding that the person you have built up as capable of making everything right, is after all, just another imperfect man. It was folly for any of us to expect a conversion from troubled, faltering nation to idealistic utopian Republic in under two years, and yet it becomes increasingly clear that is precisely what a large element of Obama Nation wanted.

I certainly have mixed feelings about the direction of the country, but I think it would be interesting if someone conducted a poll on what we think of ourselves. What do we think of our own handling of America’s downturn: our persistent reluctance as a voting public to get serious about clean energy, generating new State and Federal Revenues, reducing personal debt, investing in infrastructure? We want everything to get better in some vague, imperceptible way, but we are a people stubbornly resistant to innovation and investment in the 21st century. Isn’t a leader only as successful as the support he has under him? We want Obama to stop oil spills in the Gulf, but not by placing a moratorium on deep water drilling. We want better health care, but this should somehow happen by magic, within the system we have in place. We want an end to long, costly wars, but we want to be darned sure we are safe from another terrorist attack at the same time. Fear of the unknown apparently outweighs weariness with the known and ineffective.

Given the bi-polar, indecisive mindset of the American public, what do we expect Buff Bam, our once admired political Adonis to do? The gray hair, the lined and serious face of Obama in 2010 stands in contrast to the vigorous, cheerful candidate we voted for in late 2008. If infatuation is a captivation with our own reflection, what do we see now? Fatigue, frustration and confusion. Yeah – that’s us.

Anderson Cooper and His Tight T-Shirt Get to the Gulf! (June 17, 2010)

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anderson-cooper-tight-t-shirt-in-nyc

If Obama is still searching for a way to take the national temperature, to figure out “whose ass to kick,” as he famously said last week of his response to the BP oil spill and ensuing environmental crisis, he just needs to follow the biceps. Whenever trouble lurks, wherever humanity has taken a heartbreaking tumble, the “Silver Fox” and his field uniform of form fitting designer jeans and pec-stretched t-shirt will be. Apparently windblown hair and a serious face are the weapons of mass destruction needed to “keep them honest.”

President Obama is not a bad looking guy himself, and we know he keeps in shape – all that “Buff Bam” vacationing in Hawaii coverage. So it’s a wonder that in the midst of the PR mess his administration finds themselves in, accusations of being slow to respond to the Gulf catastrophe, not showing enough empathy and acting as the handmaiden to big business, Obama’s people have never thought to rip a page out of AC’s playbook.

As Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning author and presidential historian stated as part of a panel discussion on last Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” “President Reagan knew the value of photos.” She alluded to the idea that if the BP catastrophe had happened on his watch, the Gipper would have made sure he was documented in his work shirt, talking to the Gulf’s “real people” on a daily basis.

But Obama is a curious case. For a man who harnessed the viral powers of the Internet throughout his campaign in ways that other candidates could only envy, a man who seems to understand intuitively that listening to the people who put him office is vital to his success, he has a curiously arrogant and disdainful attitude toward the media. This is not serving him well. Reagan, who I revile personally, was however, inarguably cuddly with the press and the American people. Though his policies may have stuck a knife in the back of our nation’s future, he had this way of making you believe in a kindly, disinterested love of the regular guy.

America needs a little cuddling right about now. Unemployment rates are stuck, with no immediate hope of falling. People are worried and scared. The middle class American dream is in danger of slipping through the fingers of so many, and on top of that, our geographic treasures, such as the Gulf and the beaches of Pensacola are imperiled. Is anything sacred anymore? But instead of connecting with us, President Obama comes off as curiously truculent and annoyed. That may be reflective of the national mood but it is not what we need at this moment in history. Where is that decided, active hope?

I began this post by taking a good natured poke at Anderson Cooper, or “Old Smoldering Blue Eyes (OSBE),” as my good friend Diane calls him. But there is a reason I invoked his studly example. AC gets it. He understands that in the midst of a local or international crisis (Katrina, the Earthquake in Haiti, trouble in the Gulf), America wants to see a virile, somber visage, on the ground talking to people, raising awareness, and providing the televised appearance of making things happen. Sitting in the Oval Office on a Tuesday night asking the nation to pray just doesn’t fill that need. God doesn’t know how to fix this mess either. When did “Yes, We Can” become an inert heavenly plea?

Get thee to an Abercrombie & Fitch, Barack!

Obama’s Pragmatic Problem (May 19, 2010)

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Barack Obama...President Barack Obama speaks about combat troop levels in Iraq as he addresses military personnel at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Friday, Feb. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

 

I want to state unequivocally from the outset that I am a huge supporter of President Obama and his work since taking the oath of office in January of 2009. The argument could reasonably be made that he inherited one of the finest messes that ever faced an incoming Executive, and for the most part, I believe he has acquitted himself with the thoughtful grace and deliberation that his predecessor, the “Bring ‘em on!” cowboy himself, George W. Bush, could never muster. There is much to be admired with Obama, and he has commanded my respect as a leader. I would not be the one to make the decisions he has thus far – stimulus, bailouts, health care, etc. – but I am glad someone did. I feel, for the first time since 2001, that we are in good hands, even if the national landscape remains an overgrown mess in need of some serious weeding.

Yet recently an inkling has begun to wash over me that Obama is losing a war right here at home that is as critical to his domestic agenda as any policy his think tank could develop – and that would be the public relations war. We read the same results in poll after poll. Folks like Obama personally, but judge him to be “professorial,” “intellectual” and “too deliberate.”

Such a paradox. On the one hand, we desire a level-headed leader who can soothe us in times of crisis. But on the other hand, the red blooded American public also wants passion and plenty of it – just don’t go overboard, a la Howard Dean. It’s a delicate balance for sure, but in my estimation, there are some recent issues where I would have preferred to see less analysis and more knee jerk emotion. I get the feeling at times that Obama’s “people” are so busy managing his image that they forget why we voted for him.

The White House response to the Gulf Oil spill comes to mind. While I understand that shouting down BP executives on a daily basis does nothing to resolve the crisis, I believe that Obama’s calm and cool demeanor represents a missed opportunity to harness the national anger to effect change – i.e. FINALLY doing something about our dependence on foreign oil. It was gratifying to read in this morning’s New York Times that no less a personage than Tom Friedman is with me on this one.

I am no fan of the Tea Party and find myself at odds with them on nearly every policy issue, but I readily believe that one of the reasons they have succeeded in connecting with the American people so palpably and quickly, is that their strategists cannily understand and tap into the way that anger and desperation can foment revolt. It’s one of the principles this great nation was founded upon. Mr. Obama, the former Constitutional lawyer, should know this better than anyone, but is failing to use this phenomenon to advantage.

So after much consideration, I am left with this assessment:

1. Obama = fair and balanced, measured and temperate

BUT

He often appears unrelatable – so contrary to the image of Citizen Obama, the candidate. And at the risk of sounding the complete cynic, I wonder if making the most logical decisions necessarily means making the best ones. Does his team even care about the difference? Or are they just trying to manage the returns of the November mid-term elections? This short term strategy is disappointing, and not what Obama supporters were after.

Another example from late last week: the issue of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s sexuality. Instead of rushing to squash the rumor, ask yourself Mr. President, and the American public simultaneously, why the hell it should matter? Most people don’t have an answer to this question that doesn’t clumsily fall out of their mouths as they mutter about “family values.” Become the Obama you once were, the one who when asked if he inhaled while smoking marijuana as a college student, nonchalantly replied, “I thought that was the point.” The question was never posed again.

2. Tea Party = fringe, hooking to the right, highly emotional

BUT

They have captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way that the overly messaged Obama administration has not. This truth is reflected in Obama’s poll numbers as well as this week’s House and Senate primary elections. Rand Paul is in. Harry Reid, the unpopular Senate majority leader from Nevada is hanging on by a thread. Enough said.

I sincerely hope the Tea Party does not confuse their recent victories with a “mandate” as some of their members have suggested, but all the same, the American people and the White House would be making a mistake to dismiss them as a passing trend. They do have something to teach Obama that could make him a better, stronger more effective leader.

Anger and disaffection, when wielded incorrectly, can be destructive. However, when harnessed and channeled in the right direction, emotions can act as an impetus to bring about “change we can believe in.”

Mr. President, we are still “fired up and ready to go.” Are you?

The Water in South Carolina (September 11, 2009)

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Eddie has been traveling to this Southern State for most of the year, part of the deal that comes with his landing a solid, full-time job with the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association. I have gone along with him on two of these weekly business trips since July, and have written a bit about how I enjoyed the quiet and relaxation I had found in the small town of Blythewood to do my work (both freelance writing, and on my tan).

So yes, South Carolina has necessarily been on my radar this year. But even if my husband’s career hadn’t led him toward an intimate relationship with this land of 4.5 million people, it would be hard to ignore the continuing stream of news oddities that have been vomited from the overheated Red state in 2009. This latest bit, the by-now infamous conduct of Congressman Joe Wilson, who screamed “You lie!” like a classless red neck whooping it up at a monster truck rally at President Obama, during a nationally televised address, only served to remind me that this is the fourth time in a very short period that something shady in SC has mounted the national stage.

1. June 22, 2009 – Governor Mark Sanford Goes “Hiking”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/22/mark-sanford-disappeared_n_219139.html

I believe we all know by now that the early summer “vacation” of the Gov was instead a jaunt down to Argentina to get a blowjob from his mistress. This continues to be a major pickle, and I had assumed (wrongly) that the GOP would like to shove this business under the rug so they could get back to the important work of scaring senior citizens to death about health care reform. But no! They are the ones who continue to call for Sanford’s ouster, as recently as this week. There’s nothing that makes me smile brighter than right wing cannibalism.

2. July 6, 2009 – Police say suspect in South Carolina serial killings is dead

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/06/south.carolina.killings/

If you blinked in early July, or were out enjoying summer fun rather than stuck indoors watching TV with your overseas in-laws, you may have missed this. It is for the best that this miscreant did himself in. Patrick Tracy Burris’ five victims were completely random in terms of age, class and relation to the murderer (i.e. none). An unreadable killer is the most dangerous of all.

3. August 19, 2009 – Record Setting PowerBall Jackpot Winner From South Carolina

http://www.powerball.com/powerball/pb_stories.asp

It took Solomon Jackson Jr. WEEKS to claim his 259 million dollar prize. And as of today, he has yet to make a decision as to how he’d like to be paid (cash or annuity). Glad he doesn’t need the money that badly. Eddie and I had tickets for this particular drawing, so I took this indecision personally.

4. September 9, 2009 – ‘You Lie:’ Joe Wilson outburst sets bad example for kids

http://www.nj.com/parenting/amber_watsontardiff/index.ssf/2009/09/you_lie_joe_wilson_outburst_se.html

It would be amoral of me, as a responsible blogger, not to admit that I have had to restrain myself this week from writing Congressman Wilson a thank you letter: not because I support his childish display of petulant rudeness. No, I thank him because he has changed the subject of the health care reform debate from prophesies of dead grandmas, to an examination of just how partisan and disrespectful Capitol Hill practices have gotten. Obama and Co. are savvily riding the PR and sympathy wave, handing out gracious and forgiving soundbites, and leaving uncommitted independents wondering if the Republicans can find their own asses much less develop an adult piece of beneficial legislation.

So it’s been a busy few months for a State that comprises a mere 1.5% of the nation’s total population. I think they had better drum up some media attention for something other than slutty/crazy politicians, murder and careless millionaires on the double. Thanks to the Blago/Roland Burris fiasco, I informally awarded Illinois the 2008 Goat of the Union Award. Looks like SC is a serious contender for ’09.

Homecoming (April 11, 2009)

Becky SarwateLeave a comment

In all the excitement of the week, both positive and negative, I almost forgot to mention the good news regarding the next phase of my road warrior husband’s career. He has been, for the most part, happily working away in Denver for Comcast. Of course he has missed our home and the cats, but has found himself suprisingly content with the work he has been doing, and with the camaraderie of his colleagues. I had asked him to keep looking for jobs in Chicago, but the truth of the matter is, he had stopped searching. However, that does not mean companies stopped looking for him.

One such interested party was Blue Cross/Blue Shield right here in Chicago. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this was a posting that many of Eddie’s fellow IT consultants had heard of and wanted badly. In this economy, health care is one of the few “safe” industries left. The attractiveness of a company of that size, with that capacity to take on exciting projects, such as the Electronic Health Record work that President Obama has highlighted as critical to the future of health care, cannot be overstated. Anyway, Blue Cross told my hubby when they met him face to face, that they had received well over 100 resumes for the job. Here’s the irony: one of those hundreds was not from Eddie. As I said, he had stopped looking. My husband, oddly not one to take all the credit for his career success, even though he is more than willing to do so in most social situations, has basically concluded that his lucky number simply came up. Hogwash, I say. When you have it, you have it, and Eddie had it all along. It still saddens to me to see the confidence fallout he is left with after a bruising January and February.

So, Eddie is coming home. This week will be his last flying to Denver. He begins his new assignment, a manager role (I confess I am guilty of bragging – sue me), Monday, 4/20. Heh heh. 4/20. Oops, sorry. At least for the first couple of weeks, it appears he will not have to travel at all. And when he does, the trips will be shorter. Blue Cross has already talked salary, benefits and vacation time with him, so selfishly for me, this is a great gain as well. As you all know, I am about to join the ranks of the unemployed. I have been the one providing the health insurance coverage while Eddie has chased the big dollar contracts. So now, with this gig being a permanent one, the heat is turned down even lower on my behind.

At any other time, these developments, basically all I have prayed for since 2009 began, would have me streaking through the streets with joy. But I have had a good stiff kick to the face this week which reminded me that money, climbing the corporate ladder and all the accoutrements that come with it, are fleeting, and in the end, meaningless. I am just happy to have Eddie home with me. That’s where he belongs.