The Wrong People in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

I have come to the conclusion that President Obama and the Democratic congressional leadership are exactly the wrong people to be in charge of the country at this time. The country is in a long-term economic slump with a real possibility of a double dip recession but the people in charge have no idea of how economics work. Worse, they are offended by basic fundamentals of economics like profits.

During the 2008 election, Obama let it slip to Joe the Plumber that he is in favor of redistributing wealth. During a recent graduation speech he told graduates to stop worrying about making money and to do other things with their lives. While that sounds good, it does not create jobs.

The Democratic response to the economy in general has been contradictory but guided by the overriding conviction that only they know what is best.

Look at the outrage they express when banks that previously received TARP funds paid legally mandated bonuses or simply made a profit. After taking over GM, the President suspended long-established rules for paying off debt under bankruptcy in favor of unions (which coincidentally were major campaign contributors).

Obama's signature achievement was his health care reform but it will act as a drag on the economy.

The latest are the actions surrounding the BP oil spill. Members of Congress talked about requiring BP to suspend paying dividends (on earning from the quarter before the oil spill) and even stopping them from advertising until all cleanup costs have been paid. This would amount to seizing a foreign corporation without bothering to go through legal proceedings.

The oil spill is hurting Obama's popularity but his reactions are having international repercussions. By stressing their old name, "British Petroleum" instead of their current name, "BP", he is alienating an entire nation. Treating BP as a faceless, possibly evil, entity ignores the fact that a lot of its dividends go to regular people. Retirees in England face major cuts in their pensions because of Obama's actions.

While most of the above problems are shared between the President and the Congressional leadership, Obama has put his personal mark on international relations. Even before the BP incident he went out of his way to insult the British Prime Minister. Many people think that this stems from a personal dislike that Obama has for the British stemming from their colonial control of his father's native Nigeria. Since Obama's withdrawal strategies for Iraw and Afghanistan hinged on European countries taking over peace-keeping duties, it is irrational to spurn our strongest supporter in those theaters.

Other countries such as India, Poland, and Turkey have seen a cooling in relations. No explanation has been offered but speculation is that they are being punished for their good relations with the Bush administration. Israel has seen a major shift with relations being at their lowest point in a half century.

At the same time, outreach to hostile countries has failed miserably. Obama was supposed to heal relations with the world but instead he has isolated us further.

A year and a half into his administration and it is difficult to think of a policy that has actually succeeded.