Obama: In Search of Lost Credibility

The president’s State of the Union address was an attempt to recover his initiative and not become irrelevant too soon.

In a critical moment for his administration, with his relevance as president and his influence within the Democratic Party on the line, Barack Obama has presented new ideas and proposals in his State of the Union address, in the hope of recovering his lost credibility. He reiterated his words on a subsequent four-state tour, insisting that he is prepared to legislate to ensure equality of opportunity and a fairer distribution of wealth.

His speech last Tuesday night to both chambers of Congress and representatives from all the nation’s main authorities — the traditional annual demonstration of unity and resolve in the U.S. political system — was convincing and brilliant, perhaps the best of the five such addresses Obama has made so far. However, the president does not currently have the power to keep these firm promises, and there is once again a great risk that his words will ultimately become meaningless.

“I’m eager to work with all of you,” the president told Congress, “But America does not stand still — and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.”

One such step the president plans to take without legislation is to raise the minimum wage for federal government employees. But it is not clear what more he will be able to do — apart from some lazy suggestions about environmental protection and education reform, little else is in his power.

Obama’s words reflect his understandable frustration with the opposition in Congress, which has spent the last five months trying to hinder many of the White House’s main initiatives, from the closure of Guantanamo Bay to immigration reform. They also represent an attempt to ease the fears of his supporters, with their ever-increasing demands for presidential boldness.

However, despite this emotional release, in reality Obama cannot be expected to achieve much without the backing of Congress, especially in the realm of domestic policy, where his hands are constitutionally tied. Even his decision to raise the minimum wage is limited to federal employees; extending it to all workers across the country would require legislation that the Republicans refuse to endorse.

The opposition in the House of Representatives also refused to approve the legislation on undocumented immigrants that had already been passed by the Senate and has paralyzed other White House initiatives, including plans for the development of alternative energies and tax increases for the rich aimed at achieving greater economic equality.

This obstructionism, which did not manage to prevent the president’s health care reform (although it did tarnish its introduction), has cast a cloud over Obama’s presidency in general terms and threatens to make his remaining three years in office irrelevant. Obama can expect few concessions during this time — unless the Republicans suffer an unlikely landslide defeat in November’s midterm election — and there are likely to be few significant political moves.

It is always possible that the opposition could pay for its current attitude at the polls. However, what is certain is that the current situation is doing a great deal of damage to Obama’s credibility. As far as the public is concerned, it is the president who is ultimately responsible if advances are not made; it is the president who needs to find the power to make changes.

Public support for Obama is down to 40 percent, with only 30 percent of the U.S. population optimistic about the country’s direction. Although his name cannot yet be said to be toxic, there is a notable lack of interest among Democratic electoral candidates in featuring the president in their campaigns.

What the president referred to in his speech as “a year of action” could also be Obama’s last opportunity to ensure his legacy. The president only has a few months left to introduce relevant new projects; after the midterm election, both parties will be concentrating on analyzing the lessons learned in preparation for the presidential election in 2016. In the cruel context of today’s political cycle, Obama could be a lame duck by the end of this year, despite two years of his presidency remaining. In the media, images of Hillary Clinton are already outselling Obama.