President Barack Obama walked up to the podium for a press conference yesterday where he discussed the slaughtering, or, as he put it, the "shellacking" of his Party at the polls in the midterm election. Visibly rigid and probably a bit hung over from the outcome, he attempted to take on a press who seemed to be in a competition to see who could get him to make the most concessions to Republicans before the press conference was over.
The conference opened with President Obama saying some political stuff presidents are obligated to say even if they believe it or not. He said he "looked forward to working with" Speaker of the House-elect Republican John Boehner and congratulated Rep. Nancy Pelosi on "extraordinary leadership over the past two years." And, then he said, "Some election nights are more fun than others."
It would be tough to argue with President Obama's assessment of the outcome. He suggested that the results showed people were frustrated with the economic recovery, "want jobs faster," "paychecks to go further," and they want to be certain their children will have the opportunities they've had. They "want Washington to work for them, not against them." They don't want "tax money wasted." They want to make sure their "voices aren't being drowned out by sea of lobbyists and special interests and partisan bickering." And, they want business done honestly and openly.
Yet, President Obama didn't explain whether jobs could have come faster (more stimulus), whether steps could have been taken so paychecks could have been increased (the passage of a living wage measure), or what he might say had been a waste of tax money. If, in fact, the money had all been used wisely, now would have been the opportunity to debunk misconceptions so that the press would not continue to echo fears of government running amok with American taxpayer dollars.
Most frustrating to hear was President Obama say that his administration made progress but "clearly many Americans haven't felt that yet." He did not seem to be aware that Americans are largely ignorant of all that has been done because his Party and his Administration utilized poor communication and messaging throughout the election. A number of accomplishments, while small, could have been bragged about. And, boasting about what had been done might have drowned out the periodic tantrums of the Tea Party and its candidates funded by the Koch Brothers, Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove's American Crossroads, which made it possible for the GOP to win power on Election Day.
At this point, President Obama could have also singled out the many in the Democratic Party who ran against what he considered to be landmark health reform legislation, which he signed into law. He could have said that his Party needs to find its soul and figure out whether it can understand healthcare should be available to all Americans or not. But, he continued the pattern of ignoring realities within his Party that will only continue to plague the Democratic Party in future elections. Plus, he proved progressives have a veal pen they must stay in and corporate Democrats have carte blanche to say whatever they damn well please.
President Obama went on to indicate that the hallmark of the next two years would be seeking "common ground to make progress on some uncommonly difficult challenges." He said later he was "not going to anticipate [Republicans are] not going to support anything." As filmmaker Michael Moore said on Democracy Now! on the show's Election Night coverage, "I don't know how much you have to be battered and bruised to understand when the abuser is not going to stop abusing."
The continued willingness to forgive and forget Republican obstructionism recklessly imperils this country. Even if the obstructionism can be regarded as something that is only preventing a Democratic Party from passing similar corporate solutions that do not really go far enough to fix problems, ignoring the GOP's rejection of bipartisanship and cooperation is outright disingenuous to voters and the base that for some odd reason still supports him.
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