The Presidents Public Enemies ~Athena Forget ISIS and Putin; Obama has identified the real enemy—the Republicans. Barack Obama went on the attack late last week. The president delivered blistering speeches at a Democratic fundraiser in Westchester County, N.Y., at the Seafair mansion in Newport, R.I., and to unionists in Milwaukee on Labor Day. Mr. Obamas purpose in these three similar speeches was to leave his audiences with one thought, one takeaway. The following two quotations are from the speech at Seafair, where some 60 people paid up to $32,400 to hear the president talk about the world. Herewith a pop quiz for readers who couldnt be there: Who did President Obama identify as the greatest threat to mankind? Internationally, were going through a tumultuous time. And I dont have to tell you, anybody who has been watching TV this summer, it seems like it is just wave after wave of upheaval, most of it surrounding the Middle East. Youre seeing a change in the order in the Middle East. But the old order is having a tough time holding together and the new order has yet to be born, and in the interim, its scary. Now this: The reason government does not work right now is because the other party has been captured by an ideological, rigid, uncompromising core that ignores science, is not particularly interested in facts, is not particularly interested in compromise, but is interested in having its own way 100 percent of the time—and that way, in large part, includes dismantling so much of what has created this incredible middle class and this incredible wealth here in America. As is his habit, Mr. Obama answered the question himself: So the answer to our challenges is actually pretty simple—we need a better Congress. Thats right, the greatest threats to America today are . . . Mitch McConnell and John Boehner. Looking at events the past five years, wed say Mr. Obama has cutVladimir Putin more slack than he has the Speaker of the House. One can understand how Mr. Obama might feel its necessary to campaign in the North to protect Democratic senators at risk in the South and West. And that this requires minimizing the worlds real dangers while maximizing the brawny Republican threat to the homeland. But even by the low bar of campaign logic, the speeches were filled with weird flights. The reason people are feeling anxious, Mr. Obama said in Westchester, is that if you watch the nightly news, it feels like the world is falling apart. And while the world has always been messy, Mr. Obama said, were just noticing now because of social media. Videotaped beheadings of American journalists, mass atrocities, rolling tank armies in Iraq and eastern Ukraine, Nigerias Boko Haram Islamic terrorists kidnapping and slaughtering people are bad, but TV, YouTube and Twitter are making it . . . worse than it is? Notwithstanding the medias exaggeration of the worlds troubles, Mr. Obama offered solace: Heres the message I have for you, American military superiority has never been greater. Besides, Russias economy is going nowhere. Whats more: The good news is that American leadership has never been more necessary. All true. And that leaves us . . . where? But it was when Mr. Obamas thoughts turned to the home front that the most revealing convolutions appeared, especially on the economy before Milwaukees union members. He began with preposterous hyperbole: In 2008, our financial system collapsed. But today, despite a lock-step opposition that is opposed to everything we do, were better off by almost every measure, including a booming stock market. Moments after claiming credit for the Federal Reserves market boom, Mr. Obama took a nine iron to the upscale people who have captured most of it. He said the average persons in his audience arent looking for—his words—a yacht, their own plane, a mansion or vacationing in St. Barts . Heres the line that came right before these targets: Im not stirring up class resentment. Weirder still: When the president spoke to upper-bracket donors in Westchester or Newport, he sounded like one of them. Mr. Obama mocked the crazy money thats floating around in politics, and then asked his moneyed audience to give him some. But when speaking to the average people in Milwaukee, his English downshifted: You should want your wife to get paid fair. They aint looking for nothing fancy. TV news is just kind of a whole downer. One thing middle-class people arent looking for is presidential condescension. Mr. Obama says the gridlock in Washington is the result of a certain cynical genius. On the evidence, who could disagree? Its more than that, though. Speaking in Estonia Tuesday about the ISIS threat, Mr. Obama said the U.S. will lead an international effort, but thats going to take some time. Speaking in Newport, he spoke of the economys long-term challenges. With Barack Obama—whether its friends or enemies at home or abroad—every problem is always disappearing toward the horizon. Presidential decision-making is a can that he kicks down the road. With the whole world along for the wild ride. online.wsj/articles/dan-henninger-the-presidents-public-enemies-1409787742
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 02:30:00 +0000