Friday, November 13, 2009
Go figure
Perhaps the strangest thing to come out of the Obama presidency is his persistant personal popularity despite the unpopularity of many of his programs. The stimulous package, for example, has enraged and frightened huge numbers of voters of both parties and his decision to hang on in Iraq and broaden our involvement in the entire area has disappointed and enraged a lot of people, including myself. Yet, if you pin me down, I remain convinced he's the best man for the job and will ultimately get it right. He is still being castigated and lampooned by the right wingers, but at a much lower level of intensity. Ronald Reagan had this kind of personal charisma and even his hardened detractors came at him with softened ball bats. I believe that most folks, regardless of political party, tend to lighten up on a leader who gives off those nice guy rays, ergo Reagan and Obama. Extremists like Rush Limbough and Glenn Beck need to cool the vitriolic rhetoric for awhile and give the president a little breathing room. After all, a year isn't time enough to sort out the foul ups of a generation.
George Morin
