Middle America's Worldview

Tonight we watched Obama address the cadets of West Point and, over their shoulder, the American people. I kept asking myself: if I were in the audience did I hear anything worth risking my life for?

There is a lot in Afghanistan worth risking one's life for, but Obama sure didn't summon it.

Watching President Obama address the nation, the right probably recognized the incongruity of sending additional troops on a difficult mission and setting, at the same time, a very short timetable for their withdrawal. The right doubtless wondered why the Taliban won't just wait Obama out and move in after he leaves.

But the political cost of this speech will not come on the right. Obama will get the support of everyone who won't ever vote for him. But it is with his base on the left that he will be in trouble.

His volunteers, his backers, his donors have to have watched that speech and asked themselves "why did we win the election?" Obama sounded just like Bush. More articulate, perhaps, but substantively precisely the same.

His decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, an odd move for a peace candidate, his failure to close Guantanamo, our continued military presence in Iraq, and his failure to act on liberal priorities like gays in the military and immigration reform, are all sapping his support from those who voted for him.
For those with memories of Vietnam, the task of backing a corrupt regime summons the most unpleasant of comparisons.

Obama looked out of place giving a speech he didn't believe in. He seemed like he was reading a communiqué. His focus on pulling out, even as he was going in, reminded one of Bill Clinton defining what the meaning of 'is' is.

This speech will inflame the left and that is the real threat to Obama's base.

Even in the health care debate, the under 30 voters are learning that they are targeted -- just like the elderly -- for special punishment in Obama's health care bill. When they realize that they must spend $15,000 on average per family for health insurance or face a fine of 2.5% of their income or go to prison, the bill loses its appeal. And, when they find out how shallow the subsidies are (only after they spend 8% of their paychecks if their household income is $45,000 a year and 12% if it is $65,000), they begin to turn off both the bill and the president for whom they were once so enthusiastic.

Then he is losing popularity on issues that have nothing to do with ideology. It all begins with unemployment. While voters still believe by 50-42 (Rasmussen) that Bush is more at fault than Obama for the economy, Bush is not on the ballot. The high jobless rate nurtures a belief that Obama doesn't really know what he is doing. This discontent need not take the form of ideological opposition to the stimulus package or the deficit spending. It can merely be a sense that things aren't going right.

And then come the adjectives. Voters are increasingly complaining that Obama is weak, vacillates, does not keep his promises, spends too much time on other priorities than jobs, and seems egotistical.

All polls have Obama below 50 and some, like Harris, have him all the way down to 43% in job approval. These surveys mean that Obama, who won 52% of the vote, is now losing between one in ten and one in five of his voters.

This erosion of support makes the elections of 2010 look more and more like a rerun of 1994. It is now reasonable to predict -- and I do -- that the GOP will take both houses of Congress.

In the Senate, the Republicans are likely to hold all their vacant seats with the possible exception of New Hampshire. Incumbent Democrats Dodd (Ct), Specter (Pa), Lincoln (Ark), Reid (Nev), and Bennett (Col) are the low hanging fruit. Among the open seats, Delaware seems ripe for the Republicans. Add to these six seats, two more if Rudy Giuliani challenges Kristin Gillibrand in New York and if North Dakota governor Hoeven takes on Dorgan. Mark Kirk could the ninth pickup in Illinois. And, in a Republican sweep, you have to respect GOP chances in California and New Jersey.

A deluge swamps all boats.

On Capitol Hill, the Democrats seem to have almost abandoned the message war on health care. They are hunkering down and focused on keeping their troops in line. The appeals to party discipline are so strong that one senses that they are prepared to march, in lock-step, over the cliff together.

When one considers where Obama was only a year ago and where he is today, the fall is simply stunning. That he clings to the staff that helped him take it is amazing. This has to be the least successful White House since, well, Clinton's 1993-94 crowd. In fact, its many of the same people!

You can read all Dick Morris articles or signup for free email notifications at DickMorris.com.

I have long been a skeptic of manmade global warming. They lost me when we learned not only was Earth suppose to be warming but the entire solar system. Sun rays anyone?

Nevertheless, some information is now being leaked out confirming some suspicions.

Independent Examiner has a really good article on the subject.

I also recall the youtube videos showing those 'temp gauges' located in the most bizarre places. Unfortunately, i cannot recall the guy that was showing those false reading.

Some are calling for Obama to call off the Copenhagen for climate talk. I must say, I would at least take pause.

Consider this. There must be trillions if not billions of dollars invested in these studies. Now if the studies are false, then we are looking at a serious issue, both with the money as well as the credibility of the science groups. Those same science groups stating they dumped the raw data, does not help.

Either way, a open investigation needs to be taken immediately.

Wow, this one hit the head, yet was funny.

Not surprisingly the votes were in for proceeding with the health care debacle. They passed with 60, barely. All democrats voted yes, and all but one republican voted no (Voinovich (R-OH) did not vote).

You can see it here.

Some of the dem's are making such statements as

"Although I don't agree with everything in this bill, I have concluded that I believe it is more important that we begin this debate to improve our nation's health care system for all Americans rather than just simply drop the issue and walk away," Lincoln said just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday. "It is not what people sent us here to do."

It sounds good, but realistically she is just one vote in a room full of others. If Blanche Lincoln wanted to make a change, she would have voted a no, when it was her time to do so. imho

There is a growing group of people that are tired of statements, and are starting to really see how public officers are voting. Lincoln was one of the very few in the spot light. Her vote was being watched by all the political stations, as well as our constituents. I fear she made the wrong call.

Another quote from Lincoln, "First of all, it was very important to the people of Arkansas that we do take our time, and I respect that," Lincoln said in a Saturday interview. "After our town hall meetings, I really felt a real passion and a strength among Arkansans. They want us to do the right thing and taking our time and doing that and making sure that we're not rushing through these things."

Yes, seems Lincoln is still not on the same page with Arkansans regarding the 'right thing'.

With her poll numbers dropping

her approval rating back home has dropped 11 points and now stands at 43 percent, 1 percentage point above Obama’s in the state, according to a University of Arkansas poll released earlier this month. And by a 9-point margin, a clear plurality of voters in Arkansas opposes the public insurance option like the one included in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan, the poll found.

So, if the clear majority does not wish this type of insurance bill, why bring it on the floor at all? Why is she like all blue-dog dem's committing political suicide?