Author Topic: President Obama’s competence problem is worse than it looks By Chris Cillizza  (Read 1026 times)

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/07/28/president-obamas-competence-problem-is-worse-than-it-looks/

By Chris Cillizza July 28 at 5:14 PM

You can understand President Obama's current political problems -- and how those problems could make things very tough for his party in this fall's midterm election -- in a single word. And that word is "competence".

Obama was elected in 2008 on a stated promise that he would restore competence to government. He pitched himself as the antidote to "Heck of a job, Brownie" and the Bush years, the person who would always put the most qualified candidate in every job in his Administration. That the basic functioning of government would never be in question.

Almost six years on from that election, however, Obama is faltering badly on the competence question and, in so doing, badly imperiling not only his ability to enact any sort of second term agenda but also Democrats' chances this fall. A series of events -- from the VA scandal to the ongoing border crisis to the situation in Ukraine to the NSA spying program -- have badly undermined the idea that Obama can effectively manage the government.

The latest evidence is a question in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Sunday that asks whether the phrase "can manage the government effectively" applies to Obama. Just more than four in ten (42 percent) said that it does while 57 percent said it does not. (It was the lowest that Obama scored on any of the six characteristic questions CNN asked in the survey.)

Obama's trajectory on the question is all to the bad for Democrats. Back in December 2009, more than three quarters of respondents in a CNN/ORC poll said that Obama was an effective manager of the government. By early November 2009 that number had dropped to 58 percent. It dipped below 50 percent for the first time in June 2010 and in the three polls in which CNN has asked the question since mid-November 2013, 40 percent, 43 percent and now 42 percent, respectively, have said that he is a good manager.

Again, this matters because so much of the Obama brand was premised on the idea that whether or not you agreed with him on issues, you knew he was not going to be George W. Bush when it came to running the government day to day.  Increasingly, that is not true in the minds of many Americans.

The numbers on the competence question are even more troubling when you see it through the prism of the 2014 midterm electorate -- an electorate that is likely to be whiter and older than the one that re-elected Obama in 2012. Among white voters, 70 percent said that "can manage the government effectively" is not a trait they would ascribe to Obama.  Among voters 50 and older, 62 percent say that Obama can't manage the government effectively.  Eighty nine percent of Republicans say Obama isn't a competent manager while 76 percent of Democrats say he is.  Two thirds of independents say that Obama ins't an effective manager of the government.

What those numbers mean is that if Obama is a major topic of conversation in the most competitive Senate and House races this November, that's a very bad thing for his party.
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Offline musiclady

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Even when based on a false premise that Bush was a 'bad manager' (because of Katrina, of course, which was a crock in the first place), the conclusions finally being drawn by the left about their Messiah, are promising.

Anyone who thought that Obama would be a good leader when he was elected was effectively brain dead.

Now, at least, based on mounds of evidence, a few are waking up.

Perhaps there's still hope for America?? 
Character still matters.  It always matters.

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Offline Relic

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It's a shame that the Republican party is so chaotic. Look at the comments on the WaPo page. People are ready for an alternative, and the Republicans refuse to offer a reasonable alternative.

Offline katzenjammer

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Even when based on a false premise that Bush was a 'bad manager' (because of Katrina, of course, which was a crock in the first place), the conclusions finally being drawn by the left about their Messiah, are promising.

Anyone who thought that Obama would be a good leader when he was elected was effectively brain dead.

Now, at least, based on mounds of evidence, a few are waking up.

Perhaps there's still hope for America??

To be honest with you, I don't think that it mattered an iota what GWB really did in office, or not.

Sometime early in his 2nd term an all out media (and cultural) onslaught began to basically tar & feather everything about him, and Republicans in general.  Every single news item possible was slanted to the negative, the economy was blatantly talked into recession, every event around the world was somehow tied to be a "Bush failure."  Their campaign was hugely successful so that by the time the 2008 campaign got underway, it was clear that no Republican would be elected.

The playing field was so conditioned that a dead body leaking embalming fluid would have been elected, as long as it had the Democrat party endorsement.  I actually don't think that there were too many that really thought that the current occupant would be a "good leader," he was elected because he was the "anti-Bush."

I think the question that remains now is how effective is the current regime & media strategy of painting all of the current problems (you know, the way everything is falling apart around us!!) as the fault of those "obstructionist Republicans?"  I know that there is a segment of the population that has bought in to the meme "My gosh, this guy is trying so damn hard, and the Republicans have been fighting him every step of the way..." (of course, because so many of them are really racists!).  I just don't know how large that segment of the population is....

Offline katzenjammer

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It's a shame that the Republican party is so chaotic. Look at the comments on the WaPo page. People are ready for an alternative, and the Republicans refuse to offer a reasonable alternative.

Really makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Offline musiclady

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To be honest with you, I don't think that it mattered an iota what GWB really did in office, or not.

Sometime early in his 2nd term an all out media (and cultural) onslaught began to basically tar & feather everything about him, and Republicans in general.  Every single news item possible was slanted to the negative, the economy was blatantly talked into recession, every event around the world was somehow tied to be a "Bush failure."  Their campaign was hugely successful so that by the time the 2008 campaign got underway, it was clear that no Republican would be elected.

The playing field was so conditioned that a dead body leaking embalming fluid would have been elected, as long as it had the Democrat party endorsement.  I actually don't think that there were too many that really thought that the current occupant would be a "good leader," he was elected because he was the "anti-Bush."

I think the question that remains now is how effective is the current regime & media strategy of painting all of the current problems (you know, the way everything is falling apart around us!!) as the fault of those "obstructionist Republicans?"  I know that there is a segment of the population that has bought in to the meme "My gosh, this guy is trying so damn hard, and the Republicans have been fighting him every step of the way..." (of course, because so many of them are really racists!).  I just don't know how large that segment of the population is....

I just talked with one the other day while I was working out.  Obama's trying SO hard, and the stupid Republicans are just getting in his way.  It was unbelievable to actually hear those words from a person who had enough brain cells to stand upright, walk and talk at the same time.....

But you're right about 2008 and the anybody is better than the horrid Bush mentality.  (Even John McCain ran against Bush and not Obama).  The point where I disagree is that people didn't expect him to be a good leader.  He was supposed to fix everything that was wrong in the world.  To heal the broken country and to make the world a happy smiley place.

A lot of people really believed that.  A lot of people thought he was going to lead by the sound of his voice and his winsome personality.

And I think at least  a few of those people are thinking, "What was I thinking??"  while the rest of us are thinking, "How could you not KNOW that this guy was going to be a lousy President?  What in the world made you think he knew how to do anything right??"
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline musiclady

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Really makes you wonder, doesn't it?

It makes you realize how entrenched the establishment Republicans are in power and not principle.

People are crying out for leadership, and a segment of the R's are clinging stubbornly to power and ignoring the very thing they were elected to do.

All we can do is try to elect more people of principle, and pray that they can hang on to those principles in the cesspool that is Washington, DC.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

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The most promising sign of Obama's demise, 'the great fall', is when you see and hear average Black people saying Obama is an A-hole.
 
Black people know Black people, and they know a scammer when they see one.
 
Obama was slick, and he tricked them. But they are on to it now. Obama is just a big fake. A lot of noise, but nothing really there.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
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Offline DCPatriot

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It makes you realize how entrenched the establishment Republicans are in power and not principle.

People are crying out for leadership, and a segment of the R's are clinging stubbornly to power and ignoring the very thing they were elected to do.

All we can do is try to elect more people of principle, and pray that they can hang on to those principles in the cesspool that is Washington, DC.

IMO...that's not it at all.  The Republicans just don't want to be called racists, and that is what has them cowering.

After almost 6 years of this crap, they still don't want to call him what he is.   DOMESTIC ENEMY #1.  He's nothing but a criminal thug.
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Offline musiclady

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IMO...that's not it at all.  The Republicans just don't want to be called racists, and that is what has them cowering.

After almost 6 years of this crap, they still don't want to call him what he is.   DOMESTIC ENEMY #1.  He's nothing but a criminal thug.

Hmmm................. I completely agree that the fear of being called racists is a factor.

But I think it's one of several, and those include the desire of the Republican establishment to retain power.  The conservative wing of the party represents a threat to them, even though the conservatives are actually standing on the principles stated in the Republican platform.

I think the division within the party is not so much based on the fear of being called a racist (which, of course, is a very realistic fear, since that's been happening incessantly for 6 years), but rather, on those in power's loss of that DC inner circle power that they currently have.

In any case, it's complicated...    **nononono*
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline olde north church

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The most promising sign of Obama's demise, 'the great fall', is when you see and hear average Black people saying Obama is an A-hole.
 
Black people know Black people, and they know a scammer when they see one.
 
Obama was slick, and he tricked them. But they are on to it now. Obama is just a big fake. A lot of noise, but nothing really there.

It's too bad they didn't listen to those who could see him as a shuck and jive, 3 Card Monte, HNiC.  Not when our uniforms had a different color.
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Offline DCPatriot

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It's too bad they didn't listen to those who could see him as a shuck and jive, 3 Card Monte, HNiC.  Not when our uniforms had a different color.

The more this type of mutiny manifests itself in the media, Hollywood A-list stars might start to speak up, creating a flood a criticism that is sorely needed right now.
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

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It's too bad they didn't listen to those who could see him as a shuck and jive, 3 Card Monte, HNiC.  Not when our uniforms had a different color.

One Leftist commentator voted for him because he liked the crease of his pants.
 
When you are dealing with that level of stupidity and irrationality, when you have the entire American Leftist world having orgasms every time Hussein took a sip of water, that level of insanity cannot be overcome.
 
You just have to sigh, as we all did, and let it run it's course. That is all you can do. And now it has, and here we are.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists.

Offline Chieftain

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Same old, same old.  Next they will run a poll that shows most people think the Country is un-governable, which is why Obama has not succeeded.

Again, compare how the media treated Richard Nixon, to how they are treating Obama.  It was public opinion about the coverup of the Watergate burglaries that drove Nixon from office, and public opinion was driven by aggressive journalism that would not let go of the coverup.  Now we have the brother of the President of CBS News in the Oval Office advising the President, and nobody blinks an eye.  MSNBS is as outrageous as ever in their pimping of Obama despite having the lowest ratings of any news organization on the planet.

There's only one poll that counts, your vote.

Offline sinkspur

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Hmmm................. I completely agree that the fear of being called racists is a factor.

But I think it's one of several, and those include the desire of the Republican establishment to retain power.  The conservative wing of the party represents a threat to them, even though the conservatives are actually standing on the principles stated in the Republican platform.

I think the division within the party is not so much based on the fear of being called a racist (which, of course, is a very realistic fear, since that's been happening incessantly for 6 years), but rather, on those in power's loss of that DC inner circle power that they currently have.

In any case, it's complicated...    **nononono*

This is really getting old. 

It's time for conservatives to unite and fight the Democrats.  All this "GOPe" bullshit is an attempt to play some kind of victim act because Tea party candidates didn't win any primaries.

It's the Tea partiers who started all the impeachment talk, talk that people like Palin are continuing. The one thing that would lift Democrats in November is a move to impeach.  I would swear that all this impeachment talk is an attempt to wreck the Republican party's efforts.  It's time for Levin and Palin and the other idiots spewing impeachment talk to shut the hell up.

Not passing legislation is leading.  Not giving in to Democrats is leading.  Passing small, targeted bills meant to fix problems is leading. 

The GOP is leading.  They're just not leading in the way some in the Tea party want them to lead.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2014, 04:21:59 pm by sinkspur »
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Offline musiclady

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This is really getting old. 

It's time for conservatives to unite and fight the Democrats.  All this "GOPe" bullshit is an attempt to play some kind of victim act because Tea party candidates didn't win any primaries.

It's the Tea partiers who started all the impeachment talk, talk that people like Palin are continuing. The one thing that would lift Democrats in November is a move to impeach.  I would swear that all this impeachment talk is an attempt to wreck the Republican party's efforts.  It's time for Levin and Palin and the other idiots spewing impeachment talk to shut the hell up.

Not passing legislation is leading.  Not giving in to Democrats is leading.  Passing small, targeted bills meant to fix problems is leading. 

The GOP is leading.  They're just not leading in the way some in the Tea party want them to lead.

I will ignore your irrational everything's-the-Tea-Party's-fault meme, and try to answer you rationally.

It was Tea Party efforts that got us the House in 2010.  Many Tea Party endorsed candidates are leading the charge against Obama and his corrupt administration.  It is also a position that SOME leading Republicans hold that the Tea Party is the enemy, and not a group to be welcomed.  And it is the Tea Party who actually BELIEVE in the Republican platform and want to see it lived up to.

I am as loyal a Republican, historically, as has ever existed, but I'm not so blind as to miss the fact that MY party has drifted left, and that MY leaders are afraid to lead.

It's time for you to stop centering on a couple of people you despise and look at the big picture, sinkspur.

As long as you make conservative Republicans your enemy, you will continue to be part of the problem, and not the solution.

What I said in my post was rational and accurate.

What you said in yours was not.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2014, 05:04:54 pm by musiclady »
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

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This is really getting old. 

It's time for conservatives to unite and fight the Democrats.  All this "GOPe" bullshit is an attempt to play some kind of victim act because Tea party candidates didn't win any primaries.

It's the Tea partiers who started all the impeachment talk, talk that people like Palin are continuing. The one thing that would lift Democrats in November is a move to impeach.  I would swear that all this impeachment talk is an attempt to wreck the Republican party's efforts.  It's time for Levin and Palin and the other idiots spewing impeachment talk to shut the hell up.

Not passing legislation is leading.  Not giving in to Democrats is leading.  Passing small, targeted bills meant to fix problems is leading. 

The GOP is leading.  They're just not leading in the way some in the Tea party want them to lead.


I will ignore your irrational everything's-the-Tea-Party's-fault meme, and try to answer you rationally.

It was Tea Party efforts that got us the House in 2010.  Many Tea Party endorsed candidates are leading the charge against Obama and his corrupt administration.  It is also a position that SOME leading Republicans hold that the Tea Party is the enemy, and not a group to be welcomed.  And it is the Tea Party who actually BELIEVE in the Republican platform and want to see it lived up to.

I am as loyal a Republican, historically, as has ever existed, but I'm not so blind as to miss the fact that MY party has drifted left, and that MY leaders are afraid to lead.

It's time for you to stop centering on a couple of people you despise and look at the big picture, sinkspur.

As long as you make conservative Republicans your enemy, you will continue to be part of the problem, and not the solution.

What I said in my post was rational and accurate.

What you said in yours was not.



:facepalm2: