Will 2014 Be an Unhappy Year for Obama?
Published in Asharq Al Awsat
(Saudi Arabia) on 1 January 2014
by Mamduh Al-Mahini (link to original)
"2013 was a bad year for the Obama administration" — that is certainly what observers will say in the future when they evaluate the work of the current administration.
The reasons are manifold and powerful. During the year that ended yesterday, the president could not commit to his "red lines," which the Assad regime crossed many times. After the Churchillian speech that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered, in which he repeated the phrase "we know" as a censure more than 40 times, the retreating president then decided to throw the burden onto Congress, which was busy with domestic issues and conflicts.
In 2013, the health insurance program witnessed great confusion, causing a great wave of criticism and ridicule. It was also the year that revealed the spying scandal that angered the public and America’s allies. Thus, it was the year that witnessed a great retreat in America’s role in the world. For all these reasons, Obama’s popularity decreased to an unprecedented 40 percent. For the most part, the presidents who have reached this percentage have not been able to rise again, especially when it has been a question of public confidence, as with President Obama, whom some consider a liar. He was frank when he promised people who owned health insurance that they could keep it, but the opposite proved to be true.
However, all this belongs to the past now. The important question now is what will happen in 2014?
Who expected that this year would be pivotal on the domestic level, not only for the Democratic administration but also for Republicans and their supporters?
The most important of events are the midterm election this coming November. Only two months ago, the scale was leaning toward a Democratic victory and gain of seats in the House of Representatives, after the criticism that Republicans experienced because of their shutdown of the federal government. However, "Obamacare" has greatly hurt and completely changed the temperament of the Democratic camp. According to a poll conducted by CNN, 49 percent of participants said that they would vote for the Republicans, whereas 42 percent said that they would vote for the Democrats. It is likely that the aversion to the Democrats will continue, especially because the success of Obama’s health project will require a long time — that is, if it succeeds — and it will face real and diverse problems from his opponents. The argument, whose chant continues these days, is that the government is not capable of administering large projects and will intervene in the lives of the people and threaten their personal choices. Whether that is right or wrong, the failure of the working system gave him some legitimacy. It is expected that the Republican Party will win more seats in the Senate. If this happens, it will lead to an early paralysis of the Obama administration — it will be the functional end, as one writer indicated.
For Republicans, this year is also seriously important. The party has suffered deep divisions because of repeated defeats in recent years; there is a conflict between party veterans and the party’s new and most dynamic, but most radical, elements. It is expected that this year will see the exit of a new vision uniting the different sects, especially since the party’s chances of winning the midterm elections, and even the coming presidency, seem higher now than at any other time. Because of Obama and his party’s stumbles, names are shining, like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's, who seems one day after another a more powerful choice for Republicans, if they want to regain the White House. Because of that, experts say that the passing of a new immigration law, which will give millions of undocumented immigrants appropriate legal status, will happen. This will mean that Republicans will compete to win over Latino voters — those of Latin American descent — who tipped the needle to Obama in the last election when they supported him by a large margin, neighboring 70 percent.
Hopefully, the Obama administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East, which has been subjected to widespread criticism because of the spread of chaos and increase in the number of victims in Syria, will change. However, it seems that, until now, a reduction has been out of the question, despite the urgency and continuing appeals from people like Sen. John McCain. In his last press conference before going on vacation to Hawaii, President Obama did not address the Syrian issue once. That silence continued until the latest horrific massacres occurred in Aleppo.
Will 2014 be an unhappy year for Obama and Democrats? Maybe, but it is impossible for anyone to know. However, there is one thing we can know for sure about these happenings in the American political landscape: A number of politicians will commit sex scandals, the media will brandish them and they will abandon their offices. In the last year, Anthony Weiner found himself in a second scandal. Also, the mayor of San Diego, Bob Filner, was toppled after he broke a record and harassed more than 18 women. When it comes to sex scandals, it seems that the logical question is not if they will happen but, rather, who will it be this time?
The reasons are manifold and powerful. During the year that ended yesterday, the president could not commit to his "red lines," which the Assad regime crossed many times. After the Churchillian speech that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered, in which he repeated the phrase "we know" as a censure more than 40 times, the retreating president then decided to throw the burden onto Congress, which was busy with domestic issues and conflicts.
In 2013, the health insurance program witnessed great confusion, causing a great wave of criticism and ridicule. It was also the year that revealed the spying scandal that angered the public and America’s allies. Thus, it was the year that witnessed a great retreat in America’s role in the world. For all these reasons, Obama’s popularity decreased to an unprecedented 40 percent. For the most part, the presidents who have reached this percentage have not been able to rise again, especially when it has been a question of public confidence, as with President Obama, whom some consider a liar. He was frank when he promised people who owned health insurance that they could keep it, but the opposite proved to be true.
However, all this belongs to the past now. The important question now is what will happen in 2014?
Who expected that this year would be pivotal on the domestic level, not only for the Democratic administration but also for Republicans and their supporters?
The most important of events are the midterm election this coming November. Only two months ago, the scale was leaning toward a Democratic victory and gain of seats in the House of Representatives, after the criticism that Republicans experienced because of their shutdown of the federal government. However, "Obamacare" has greatly hurt and completely changed the temperament of the Democratic camp. According to a poll conducted by CNN, 49 percent of participants said that they would vote for the Republicans, whereas 42 percent said that they would vote for the Democrats. It is likely that the aversion to the Democrats will continue, especially because the success of Obama’s health project will require a long time — that is, if it succeeds — and it will face real and diverse problems from his opponents. The argument, whose chant continues these days, is that the government is not capable of administering large projects and will intervene in the lives of the people and threaten their personal choices. Whether that is right or wrong, the failure of the working system gave him some legitimacy. It is expected that the Republican Party will win more seats in the Senate. If this happens, it will lead to an early paralysis of the Obama administration — it will be the functional end, as one writer indicated.
For Republicans, this year is also seriously important. The party has suffered deep divisions because of repeated defeats in recent years; there is a conflict between party veterans and the party’s new and most dynamic, but most radical, elements. It is expected that this year will see the exit of a new vision uniting the different sects, especially since the party’s chances of winning the midterm elections, and even the coming presidency, seem higher now than at any other time. Because of Obama and his party’s stumbles, names are shining, like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's, who seems one day after another a more powerful choice for Republicans, if they want to regain the White House. Because of that, experts say that the passing of a new immigration law, which will give millions of undocumented immigrants appropriate legal status, will happen. This will mean that Republicans will compete to win over Latino voters — those of Latin American descent — who tipped the needle to Obama in the last election when they supported him by a large margin, neighboring 70 percent.
Hopefully, the Obama administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East, which has been subjected to widespread criticism because of the spread of chaos and increase in the number of victims in Syria, will change. However, it seems that, until now, a reduction has been out of the question, despite the urgency and continuing appeals from people like Sen. John McCain. In his last press conference before going on vacation to Hawaii, President Obama did not address the Syrian issue once. That silence continued until the latest horrific massacres occurred in Aleppo.
Will 2014 be an unhappy year for Obama and Democrats? Maybe, but it is impossible for anyone to know. However, there is one thing we can know for sure about these happenings in the American political landscape: A number of politicians will commit sex scandals, the media will brandish them and they will abandon their offices. In the last year, Anthony Weiner found himself in a second scandal. Also, the mayor of San Diego, Bob Filner, was toppled after he broke a record and harassed more than 18 women. When it comes to sex scandals, it seems that the logical question is not if they will happen but, rather, who will it be this time?
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