Still Crazy After All These Elections

DATELINE: Asylumville, November 6 – President Obama held a press conference the day after the election to discuss the results. Like most sane people, he first congratulated the winners. He then recognized that voters want their elected officials in D.C. to work together to render rational solutions. So far, so good.

 

Then things started to slip into auditory hallucinations land. Stating that his position in the leadership pyramid is unique, which it is, he claimed to hear the voices of Americans who did not vote. And, he was happy to report that they all support him. A decision not to vote was a vote cast for the status quo. And, since Obama is numero uno in that category, remaining silent was a shout-out for him.

 

Wow, is this delusional or what? Hold that thought for a minute.

 

The Republicans are presently occupying another wing of the asylum. On Wednesday, Reince Priebus, the out-going Chair of the National Republican Committee, stated that the election signaled a conservative waive washing over the Country.

 

That’s idiotic. The only waive in this election is bipartisanship. Voters want workable, interparty solutions for the significant problems facing us. Bipartisan means sensible centrist answers. It has been a consistent desire of voters for years. Obama claimed to understand that back in 2008. Despite making bipartisanship a key pledge in his first run for the White House, we’ve had none of it during his tenure in the Oval Office.

 

What we’re been handed, instead, is a series of impressive, partisan failures. A recovering economy that has bypassed most of us. A hugely unpopular healthcare law that adds layers of complexity and cost and subtracts availability and quality. A dangerously confused and counterproductive approach to foreign affairs. And more domestic scandals than there are shaking sticks.

 

At this point, the only chance of getting cooperative national management is through voter-mandated negotiations between a Republican Congress and a Democrat White House. Bipartisanship is the takeaway from this week’s election. Woe be to the party that leaves it behind.

 

So, what are those voices in Obama’s head actually saying? Midterm turnouts are typically low. Non-presidential elections are missing the dramatic appeal. But pollsters and other analysts usually come up with specific reasons for each election.

 

With this one, most observers agree that Obama is the beginning and the end of the inquiry into the dramatic defeat of his party. The Republicans kept him front and center and the Democrats were pinned in the bullseye with him. The Gallup poll people credited the lack of a popular figurehead in either party for the low turnout. This is another way to lay blame at Obama’s feet since he was the only national figurehead connected to the election.

 

Like 2010, Obama’s unkept promises left his traditional base sitting comfortably in their living rooms. In that midterm, the Dems lost an historic 50 seats to Republicans. In a brief moment of lucidity, Obama characterized it correctly as a shellacking, but his performance since then has descended straight into spasmodic incompetence.

 

The shellacking four years ago became a tsunami of rejection this week. Chickens eventually come home to roost. Eventually for Obama was Tuesday.