U.S. President at Half Speed

Obama has prevailed over the crisis in his current administration. But the brilliant orator has failed to convince the citizens of this, and it has bestowed upon him a dramatic election defeat.

What now, Mr. Obama? The outcome of the congressional election in the USA does not look pretty for the president. Naturally, the dramatic defeat of the Democrats is a catastrophe for Obama. A landslide defeat took place in the House of Representatives, while the president’s party could only maintain a paper-thin majority in the Senate. And of course the voters had Obama and his policies in mind when they cast their votes of no confidence — even when his name didn’t appear on any ballot. Two years ago, Obama appealed to their hearts. And now they are running away from him.

It would be a mistake to seek out the cause of this rapid change of attitude in just the poor state of the economy. Certainly, the recent recession has hit the USA harder than any economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1929. Recovery is a long time off, unemployment remains alarmingly high and so is the national debt. The proud world power is deeply insecure. Anxiety about the future, the fear of steady decline. Two out of three U.S. citizens believe that their children will have it worse, and they read with anxious concern that not only is China the largest creditor of the United States but is now also building the world’s fastest super computer.

However, this gloomy atmosphere was only the background for the bitter political infighting in Washington. Obama has prevailed over the crisis in his current administration. He has pushed a progressive agenda more decisively than any other president since Lyndon Johnson, yet the Republicans have vilified his agenda as socialism. The enraged minority group of “tea party” rebels has scolded the agenda with particular gusto. They feel they are the real election winners — and surely enough, the conservative-populist movement has, with the help of dozens of congressmen, established itself as a driving force within the Republican Party. But this was only one factor of the movement; it even prevented a Republican takeover of the Senate. The Democrats in Nevada and Delaware could only defend crucial legislation because “tea party” candidates terrified the voters of the middle.

Losing the Political Center

The disheartening of the political center (the moderate, central politics between the left and the right) was at least another equally important factor in the election. Two years ago, Obama helped a clear majority of the “Independents” on to victory. After the disreputable end of the Bush era, the Democrats got the chance to make things better. In their eyes, Obama didn’t use this chance. Those voters accuse him today of having governed too much for the history books, while having not done enough to take care of their day-to-day necessities.

Before the election, Obama had defiantly rejected these claims, as anyone would who believes themselves to be misunderstood. Had he not saved the economy with a huge economic stimulus before the crash? The banks, the auto industry? Had he not put historical health care reforms in motion, which better insure millions of sick people? Had he not put restrictions on Wall Street, which are intended to stop speculators from gambling the country back to the brink of the abyss? Was America not around to pick itself back up again, albeit painstakingly slowly?

The citizens have come to a different verdict. In their eyes, the country was not on the way to betterment but rather was drifting further into dangerous territory. Obama may see this as unfair. However, the once brilliant orator has even failed to persuade the public of his policies. In the end, his party, despondent and hopeless, seems to still only be fighting for itself and to keep hold of power.

In the expectations of all those who are fed up with the everlasting party conflict, however, lies the humiliated president’s chance. Obama will need to continue making compromises — but the Republicans also have to do that. They now hold the responsibility. They will have to choose between the uncompromising stance of the “tea party” and any constructive opposition that wishes for a pragmatic middle ground. Should the Republicans see their victory as a mandate to a forward attack against Obama, then they risk making themselves unpopular very quickly. The president will in turn need to learn, like many of his predecessors, how to wrest concessions from the congressional majority of the opposition. “Yes, we can” is only effective in homeopathic doses.