Fear And Loathing In Washington DC
“We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave… and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.” – Hunter S. Thompson: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
As I watched the President’s State of the Union Address, I was struck by the fact that Barack Obama looked like a man very much alone. I know that Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats dutifully stood and applauded at all of the appropriate times, but I felt that there was no real love for the man in that room. The Republicans were predictably hostile to his remarks of course. While there were no embarrassing and inappropriate outbursts from Joe Wilson, there was plenty of snickering and disrespect from the minority side of the chamber. The most obvious display of defiance happened over and over again when the Republicans refused to applaud even those traditionally conservative agenda items that Obama proposed. Tax cuts, earmark reform, spending freezes and even offshore drilling all failed to generate an overall positive reaction from the GOP. I don’t know if Obama simply caught them by surprise or their hatred for the man and the very idea of a Democrat in the White House was too much for them to bear. Maybe they are starting to view the world through Glen Beck spectacles and see socialist conspiracies behind every smiling Democratic face. If Republicans in Congress are going to keep getting their marching orders and ideology from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, then Obama’s efforts at bipartisanship in year two will fall just as flat as in year one. For the Republicans, Loathing this President has become the primary plank in their platform.
So much for the Loathing, what about the fear? I believe that the Democratic members of Congress are afraid of this President. They are afraid of his ambitious agenda and policies being so unpopular with the American public that it will irrevocably harm their own chances to get reelected. As I said, they all stood up and applauded right on cue. Applause, however, is cheap. The President doesn’t need more praise for his eloquence and rhetoric. What Barack Obama needs is a Democratic Congress who is willing to declare themselves front line fighters in the war against those who wish his Presidency to fail. What he is likely to get, is a group of Senators and Congressmen who would rather protect their own individual political futures then stand up and fight as one cohesive unit. While it may seem shameful, it is actually somewhat understandable. The instinct for self preservation is very strong. It matters little whether you are dodging real bullets on the front lines or 30 second attack ads back in Arkansas, your first thought is to keep your head down and stay alive.
Barack Obama delivered a great speech. Of course, he always does. The problem is that a great speech can’t move mountains or make miracles. He still stands between a Democratic majority who will not back his play and a Republican minority who won’t cut him any slack.
I watched and could not stop the sadness. I see the possibilities of what could be if this man had the backing and support that he deserves simply by being the President of the United States.
This is not the first time that a President has been hated by the other party but this is the first time since the Civil War that the he has been denied the basic respect of the office by such a large part of the country.