Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Having become president in the middle of an economic crisis, Obama seems to be more popular than Bill Clinton was around the same time in his term at the White House, which came during an economic boom.

Obama, however, can’t sleep lightly, or at least Republicans are making sure of that. Even though Americans still seem to like Obama, they don’t seem to feel the same way about the Democrats he’s representing or their actions.

The first sign was losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives to Republicans during the midterm elections. At that time, Obama confessed that he had definitely received ‘a slap in the face’ from the electorate but that it had opened his eyes and that he would adjust his plans accordingly.

An example of that adjustment is giving up on the very plan that won him the election — taxing the rich, a plan that he knew Republicans would never go for. Even health care reform, a cornerstone of Obama’s program, seems to be much less talked about nowadays.

Even so, the main problem is that when unable to tax the wealthy, Obama will be forced to make significant budget cuts, which is exactly what he has been trying to avoid all along — even with the risk of bankrupting the country.

According to analysts’ reports, the United States is going the way of states like Greece or Portugal, who had to seek international financial assistance. In order to avoid collapse, Obama is now faced with two options. The first is retreating from Iraq and Afghanistan — wars on which trillions of dollars have already been spent. This would, however, completely undermine Obama’s position, making him look like the cowardly president who surrendered.

The second option is making budget cuts. This would ultimately lead to unemployment and salary reductions for millions of people. This is the option that the Republicans, by refusing to approve the federal budget, are encouraging Obama to choose.

If Obama fails to comply with the Republicans’ wishes and the budget does not pass, the majority of American federal institutions will suspend their activity, and starting next week 800,000 Americans will be furloughed.

Where Obama’s popularity is concerned, he is doing well — for the time being. But there is still a lot of time to lose points before the next presidential elections in 2012. The sad part is that along with Obama, the United States is also going down, as it might have to face not only the ongoing and never-ending economic crisis but also a serious political crisis.