- How the office of the president has been reshaped.
Washington politics wasn't always as visceral as it is today. True, there have been several knockdown, drag-out fights over the years, but nothing like the "take no prisoners" approach of today.
President Obama's legacy will likely be how he changed the rules of the presidency. It is no longer about governing, but constant campaigning instead, be it for himself, his programs, or members of the party. The fact that a community organizer with no demonstrable management skills is indicative of this.
Instead of "give and take" a la President Reagan and Speaker Tip O'Neal, it is now common to smear the character of your opponents and claim ignorance of any wrongdoing. It is attack politics at its worst.
The president keeps the media on a short leash and uses them to do his bidding for him. Case in point, the media has been successful in manipulating the psyche of the country into believing anyone but a Democrat is a racist. I have been active in Republican politics for a number of years. I have also met and spoken with a lot of members of the Tea Party. Not once have I heard a disparaging comment against President Obama regarding the color of his skin. I've heard a lot about his ideology, his programs, and questions about his religion and birthplace, but virtually nothing about his race. Not once.
However, I have heard several comments from the left claiming conservatives are racist by definition. This is particularly true for the talking heads on NBC related networks. If you say something enough times, people will believe it. This racist claim has been said so many times, they have brainwashed the American people. I have friends who now claim Republicans are racists. When I challenge them to name a specific person or incident to verify their claim, they come up blank but contend, "Isn't it obvious?" Not to me. Then again, I haven't drunk the Kool-Aid yet.
President Obama is more in tune with the media culture than any of his predecessors. The media understands if they get out of line, they will be taken to the woodshed, something they greatly fear. If a reporter questions anything the president does or says, the White House contacts the person and threatens their livelihood. To illustrate, CNN anchor Carol Costello is quoted as saying, “President Obama’s people can be quite nasty. They don’t like you to say anything bad about their boss, and they’re not afraid to use whatever means they have at hand to stop you from doing that, including threatening your job.”
Such intimidation is common today which explains why the president is given a pass by the media. He owns them. The message is clear: Get out of line and we'll turn the attack dogs loose.
The president also claims ignorance of anything wrong during his administration, be it the Affordable Care Act, Benghazi, the IRS scandal, Fast and Furious, etc. This either makes him the least informed president or he is covering up. He simply will not tell the truth as it may have an adverse affect on his supporters.
Even his alleged apology regarding Obamacare was shallow at best; “I am sorry that they, you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me.” He didn't apologize to the American people for misleading them, only how sorry he is that people acted on his advice.
The administration even went so far as to get Senate Democrats to change the filibuster rules, the alleged "Nuclear Option," thereby paving the way to expedite the president's judicial appointees, as well as others. This is tantamount to a declaration of war.
The point is, politics today is no longer about discussion, compromise, and building consensus; instead it is about intimidation, character assassination, and brainwashing the public. We should have known this after the Affordable Care Act was shoved down our throats. There was certainly nothing "transparent" about how it was produced or passed.
Now the question becomes, is this the state of American politics from now on? Hard to say. In the pending field of presidential candidates from the Democratic party, I see many who understand Capitol politics, but none with any governing experience. This tells me they are likely to take a page from the Obama play book.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
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Copyright © 2013 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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