I wrote two weeks ago about how President Obama seemed to be having a difficult time moving from Monday Morning Quarterback to that of the real thing. Since that post and its list of fumbles, Obama has over promised and than hung Geithner out to dry on his attempt to roll out a bank plan. He’s also tuned up his tin ear and rolled out a mortgage plan that looks eerily similar to one proposed by Congress last year and was summarily shouted down by the public because it appeared to reward reckless to stupid behavior on the behalf of too many of the home owners it claimed to help.
In today’s WSJ, Karl Rove notes the same inability for the Obama team to “get it right.” Rove ascribes the problem to an inability to govern thus resulting in “winging it” on too many issues of substance. Rove further states that this is out of character for the Obama who ran a tight, effective campaign:
Team Obama demonstrated remarkable discipline during the presidential campaign. From raising an unprecedented amount of money to milking every advantage from the Internet to grabbing lots of delegates from inexpensive caucus states, they left nothing to chance.
From my reading of his opinion piece, Rove sees the events and reasons for Obama’s foibles thus far similar to what I did with one exception:
The president, a bright and skilled politician, has plenty of time to recover. The danger is that what we have seen is not an aberration, but the early indications of his governing style. Barack Obama won the job he craved, now he must demonstrate that he and his team are up to its requirements. The signs are worrisome. The world is a dangerous place. The days of winging it need to end.
Rove seems to believe that Obama hasn’t yet reached the point of no return and that Obama can change how he operates. I agree with Rove that the point of no return hasn’t been reached. However, I have a different perspective on Obama’s ability to change.
Over the years I’ve worked with several people who thought they were the smartest person around. Along with a lack of humility, typical traits for these folks are thin skins and a dimissive, “you’re not smart enough to understand,” kind of response when they are asked to explain their logic.
Throughout the campaign, any time Obama was challenged directly he showed a tendency towards thin skin. Even recently, as he saw the stimulus bill hit road blocks and he had to explain himself, you could see his thin skinned responses towards any who questioned his analysis. Dismissive, is there any other word for Obama’s “I won” response?
The other thing I’ve noted about folks who think they are smarter than anyone else is that it is very rare for them to change. In fact, I can only think of one that I’ve known who has only did so after being dealt a serious personal blow. My point is that unlike Rove, I don’t think Obama will change. He’s found success with his current method and will stay with it for better or worse. That makes me believe that while he hasn’t hit the point of no return, he’s careening down the path to the point and we can only hang on.
