Presidential Whine

"They treat me like a dog." "If I said that the sky was blue they would say no." "If I said fish live in the sea, they'd say no."

President Obama has spent the last few weeks complaining about the lack of cooperation he has gotten from the Republicans.

An unbiased observer would point out that Obama is pushing the most progressive agenda in generations (he said this himself in his Rolling Stone interview) which is anathema to the Republicans. In addition, with large majorities in both houses, the Democrats have not needed to resort to bipartisan compromise so that has been little outreach to the Republicans. Finally, the Republican electorate has made it clear that any Republican members of Congress who vote for Obama's agenda will be voted out of office. Given all of this, the Republicans have nothing to gain and everything to lose by supporting the President.

So why is the President complaining so much? He sounds somewhere between whining and kvetching. There is more to this.

First, there is the President's own biography. According to his autobiography, when he was in college he hung out exclusively with Marxists and feminists. He spent most of his adult life in the political monoculture of Chicago. He just isn't used to people having different opinions.

There is an additional element - Obama is a Progressive. The Progressive movement's answer to everything is additional government programs and regulation. When someone points out that their ideas have never worked before, their answer is either that the prior programs just didn't go far enough or that it wasn't implemented properly before but this time they will get it right (because this time, they will be in charge). I have often observed that Progressives think that they are the smartest people who ever lived because they think that they can solve age-old problems.

This is the real source of the President's constant complaints. As far as he is concerned, his course is crystal clear. Things are so obvious to his advanced intellect that he cannot believe that anyone could honestly hold a different opinion. When he does recognize that someone has a different opinion, he explains it in condescending terms. Remember his explanation about the bitter, clinging people in rural Pennsylvania?

So, when Republicans oppose him, Obama does not see principled opposition, he sees a plot to ruin his presidency. He sees it as a personal rejection.

According to all projections Obama will lose his big majorities in Congress. At that point he will have a choice - he can continue to whine and see his presidency go down in flames or he can learn to deal with dissenting views.