According to foreign media reports on April 28, the U.S. Senate recently vetoed a proposal on gun control by senators of both parties, followed by Obama’s angry criticism, denouncing the “humiliating” result. Media comments on what he said claim that, despite Obama’s growing resolution to control guns, the proposal was voted down because of his lack of understanding of “selling.”
Reports say that Obama has already learned how to communicate emotions and sentiments with America, which is manifest in his reaction in the White House after the second suspect of the Boston bombing was arrested on Friday night. However, he has yet to learn how to “control the situation.”
Why did he fail in the Senate vote despite his success in public debates on gun control? It is because he does not know how to cope with the system. It seems that he does not even intend on learning or hiring some smart people to teach him or do it for him.
Ninety percent of Americans are reported to support him. Yet, he only got 54 votes in the Senate. This is incredible. This highlights his shortcomings in getting what he wants using his influence. Not even the senators on Capitol Hill are afraid of him.
Even the Republicans, who are opposed to gun control, expressed their surprise that the president could not even get the 60 votes in the Senate controlled by his own party. Obama mistakenly assumed that he could exert pressure on Congress by playing the “emotion” card. However, adults in charge of power would react to this.
After the tragedy in New York, Obama and his staff decided to carry out some new regulations after deliberation in order to expel people’s impression of him that he is cold-hearted and lacking sympathy. When he was giving the State of the Union address, he said to the audience, who gave him much applause, that a vote is needed for the families of those who died in the New York tragedy. However, afterward, he lost the impulse and impressed his pessimistic views just as he always had.*
The White House has been repeating one defeatist message: This is difficult, but we need to do it. However, we may lose. Critics comment that if you say you are going to lose a battle, then you are likely to lose it.
It is pointed out that the White House should have owned its own War Room, where the names of the politicians it needs to deal with are indicated in diagrams, just like the ones in “The American President.” Passionate speeches do come with some value but are hardly sufficient. When it comes to such issues, one has to throw away all disguises and fight as if he were in a battlefield.
There are many ways to obtain 60 votes. The White House has to come up with a real strategy and a stick-to-it attitude.
However, Obama hates selling. He contends that people should just accept right things. Just as what Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., says, the senators have a lot of hard selling to do when they go back home.
“In the end you can really believe in something, but you have to go sell it,” he said.
*Editor’s note: The original author was likely referring to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, rather than any incident in New York.
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