May 30, 2013--Dow Wow!
Though stocks gave back some of their gains yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at an all time high. Even pessimistic bears on CNBC are looking less dour, even suggesting that maybe, just maybe this is not another blip or bubble but reflects a much stronger American economy.
Looking for explanations about the positive economic news, some are saying that U.S. investments are doing well because everywhere else--from Europe to Japan and China--things are heading in the opposite direction. South Americans, the French, Russian oligarchs, Middle East sheiks are all looking for safe havens, and America is pretty much it.
No one, of course, is giving Barack Obama any credit, even though the Dow has more than doubled during his watch; housing prices are dramatically rebounding; and Obamacare, though not yet fully rolled out, is already significantly cutting the cost of health care. And we know that if things were doing poorly here he would be getting all the blame He can't win for losing.
Thus I've been wondering again why this is true--why Obama (who has many leadership faults) is so vilified. Listen to late night talk radio if you want a taste of who is living under rocks. The stuff they spew is borderline seditious.
One reason is that he likes to be the smartest person in the room, especially when with Republican members of Congress. At those times there's not that much competition for who's brightest. You've got Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Michele Bachmann, and Barack Obama. Not much of a contest. But if Obama were really smart--I mean politically smart--he'd tone it down to see if there might be some way to get some things done.
And then they also know, in addition to rubbing their faces in their--how to put this--ignorance, he also can't stand them as individuals. He even hates having a very occasional drink or dinner with Republicans. To cite Maureen Dowd, he seems to be missing the "schmoozing gene."
He has those few people he likes and then there is everyone else. Being so obviously contemptuous of his congressional colleagues (including most Democrats) is a huge impediment to working together on some of our really big problems.
Then, of course, there is the problem that he's cool and they're not. Even their children and grandchildren think Obama is cool, and one can only imagine how that makes Mitch and company feel. Old, cranky, out of touch. Not a good basis for a relationship.
Finally, there is the unspoken issue that probably for many in the GOP trumps all the others--Obama's otherness. His "foreignness," the way he grew up in Indonesia, and the fact that he's . . . black.
It's probably too late for Obama to mend any fences or forge a few good relationships--like the one he clearly has with his bromantic partner Chris Christie--but I would like to see him give it a try. For our sake or, if that is not sufficient motivation, for his place in history
Looking for explanations about the positive economic news, some are saying that U.S. investments are doing well because everywhere else--from Europe to Japan and China--things are heading in the opposite direction. South Americans, the French, Russian oligarchs, Middle East sheiks are all looking for safe havens, and America is pretty much it.
No one, of course, is giving Barack Obama any credit, even though the Dow has more than doubled during his watch; housing prices are dramatically rebounding; and Obamacare, though not yet fully rolled out, is already significantly cutting the cost of health care. And we know that if things were doing poorly here he would be getting all the blame He can't win for losing.
Thus I've been wondering again why this is true--why Obama (who has many leadership faults) is so vilified. Listen to late night talk radio if you want a taste of who is living under rocks. The stuff they spew is borderline seditious.
One reason is that he likes to be the smartest person in the room, especially when with Republican members of Congress. At those times there's not that much competition for who's brightest. You've got Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Michele Bachmann, and Barack Obama. Not much of a contest. But if Obama were really smart--I mean politically smart--he'd tone it down to see if there might be some way to get some things done.
And then they also know, in addition to rubbing their faces in their--how to put this--ignorance, he also can't stand them as individuals. He even hates having a very occasional drink or dinner with Republicans. To cite Maureen Dowd, he seems to be missing the "schmoozing gene."
He has those few people he likes and then there is everyone else. Being so obviously contemptuous of his congressional colleagues (including most Democrats) is a huge impediment to working together on some of our really big problems.
Then, of course, there is the problem that he's cool and they're not. Even their children and grandchildren think Obama is cool, and one can only imagine how that makes Mitch and company feel. Old, cranky, out of touch. Not a good basis for a relationship.
Finally, there is the unspoken issue that probably for many in the GOP trumps all the others--Obama's otherness. His "foreignness," the way he grew up in Indonesia, and the fact that he's . . . black.
It's probably too late for Obama to mend any fences or forge a few good relationships--like the one he clearly has with his bromantic partner Chris Christie--but I would like to see him give it a try. For our sake or, if that is not sufficient motivation, for his place in history
Labels: Barack Obama, Chris Christie, Dow Jones Average, Economy, Housing Prices, John Boehner, Michele Bachmann, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Republicans
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:20 AM
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