http://www.newsmax.com/PrintTemplate.aspx/?nodeid=593965Newsmax
Karl Rove: How Obama Might Salvage His Presidency
Thursday, September 11, 2014 07:12 AM
By: Elliot Jager
Barack Obama needs to "accept the role history has thrust upon him" as a "wartime leader" and he needs to make staffing, policy, and personal changes if he is to save the final 28 months of his presidency, writes Karl Rove in The Wall Street Journal.
For reasons both circumstantial and self-inflicted — mostly the latter — polls show that a majority of Americans believe the Obama presidency has not been a success, that the president is not a strong leader and that he has actually been a divisive force. His approval rating is 40 percent, and 67 percent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, according to Rove, a veteran Republican strategist.
To salvage the situation, the president should rise above hyper-partisanship, like saying his opponents lack "common sense," and stop threatening to use unconstitutional executive action to get his way.
He also ought to stop deceiving the American people. And he should worry less about "optics" and be more engaged in the actual work of the presidency even at the expense of golf and Democratic fundraising, writes Rove.
He will also need to fire Valerie Jarrett, his senior adviser, and re-direct administration strategy for the rest of his term, according to Rove.
To be a wartime leader, the president will need to articulate to the American people why the war against the Islamic State matters, what interests are at stake, and he'll need to keep them informed on how the campaign is evolving, writes Rove.
Obama may not be able to reverse his popularity but "he can stabilize his situation." To do so he will need to "acknowledge mistakes, shift in light of facts, and build bridges to political opponents and foreign allies."
Whether the president "has the strength of character, energy, suppleness of mind, introspection and humility to make these necessary changes" remains an open question, Rove concludes.
