The Weakening of Obama

A year after his election, it appears that U.S. President Barack Obama has exhausted almost all the momentum that accompanied his arrival to the White House. Obama’s failure to achieve any kind of important accomplishment raises serious doubts about his ability to fulfill his campaign promises. This skepticism has also started to drive away a significant part of his electoral base. The first true indication of the general mood came from New Jersey, where Republicans won the governor’s office, despite Obama’s strong support for the Democratic nominee.

In the United States, the first year of the presidency is critical, and is often used as an indicator showing the ability to achieve real results. During this first year, the president enjoys strong support for his policies, not only from the public, but also from his party’s majority in Congress.

The second year of the presidency effectively means the start of the midterm campaign season. Those who are interested can compete for all 535 seats in the House of Representatives, but only one third of the 100 Senate seats. The president often loses the majority of the legislative power he previously enjoyed after this election, as was the case with Bill Clinton in the 1994 elections and George W. Bush in the 2006 elections.

Obama’s cautiousness and hesitation at a time when boldness and taking risks were needed reflected negatively on his performance and encouraged allies, as well as enemies, to take advantage of him. For example, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dared to challenge him when he refused repeated calls for a settlement freeze.

The vicious attacks against Obama, organized by the American right through the media last summer, also played an important role in enhancing the president’s image as weak and hesitant in national security and foreign policy matters. This feeling grew when the military began to challenge the president’s policies and strategies associated with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The failure of Obama’s administration is the primary concern for the American right and the Israelis. This alliance, formed under the previous administration, is using all its resources to weaken Obama and deprive him of any achievement that can give him a chance at reelection after three years.

The first step in achieving this end would be curtailing the Democratic majority in Congress next year. This attempt explains the tension that overcame Israel and its allies in the United States when it temporarily appeared that there was a possibility of achieving a diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. It also explains the intransigence of the Netanyahu government, supported by the American right wing, in refusing to give Obama anything that would allow him to achieve some progress on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

If Obama fails to achieve anything of importance during the next six months, it is likely that his administration will enter an early political decline, and thus end the phenomenon that many expected would have a far reaching impact on the future of America and the rest of the world.