TEN WAYS TO SAVE OBAMA'S PRESIDENCY

Better get it right now or there won't be an Obama '12.

As president, Bill Clinton was an intelligent man with astonishing political skills and the morals of a rabbit in heat. Barack Obama is an intelligent man, a pillar of morality, and has the political vision of a blind man. Alas, it’s easier to govern with weak morals than with poor political instincts. Obama needs to develop political savvy in a hurry or he’ll be a de facto lame duck before the spring thaw. Here are ten ways to recover:

1. Abandon nonpartisanship. I almost hurled when I heard still another plea for nonpartisanship in the State of the Union message. Nonpartisanship is the baby that was thrown out with Lee Atwater. The GOP strategy is to toss teabags at every Obama initiative. Republicans see no gain in helping him to succeed and every politician in America knows this except Obama. Obama’s choices are to play hardball or take his bat and go home. Don’t beg, seize the day.

2. Abandon party rebels. Fake Democrats are as bad as real Republicans. No more making deals with people such as Ben Nelson or Joe Lieberman. Put their sorry butts in the frying pan and turn up the heat. You do this by…

3. Taking away the candy. Enough with the lamentation that Democrats can’t move forward because the big, bad Republicans will filibuster. Ronald Reagan’s party never held a super majority in the Senate and at no time during his presidency did the GOP control the House. Reagan moved his agenda by blackmail—give me what I want, or I’ll veto what you want and let you explain it to voters. Obama should apply this strategy first to erstwhile allies (Nelson, Lieberman, Conrad) and let key Republicans (Snowe, Collins, Gregg, Vitter) know that their states’ pet projects are next on the cutting block. When they cry "foul," plead budget deficits!

4. Get a Democratic Dick Cheney. Obama needs to be proactive and stop allowing the GOP to define him. Presidents generally appoint hit men to do this. Unleash Joe Biden or Rahm Emanuel and let them hurl Cheneyesque sound bite bombs. Put the GOP on the defensive. Tar them as the party that says “no,” the lapdogs of Big Business, and the mouthpieces of the rich and heartless. Take the low road; politics is dirty business, so roll up the sleeves and grab some mud.

5. Forget about Wall Street. Bank and stock bailouts are a mistake. When will Democrats learn that there’s very little connection between the Dow Jones and job creation? Wall Street does not invest in America; small business creates jobs and very few of them are traded on Wall Street. Obama doesn’t even need Wall Street to loosen money for business loans anymore; the government owns controlling interest in enough banks that it can mandate capital flow and fire recalcitrant boards.

6. Play the class card. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to dismiss a few boards of directors. Voters need to feel that Obama is on their side, not the side of Big Business. Launch rhetorical blasts against pharmaceutical and insurance firms. Close the tax loopholes and enact penalties for any businesses that move jobs out of the United States; add incentives for those who create jobs and keep them here. Hint that you intend to take a critical look at NAFTA and membership in the World Trade Organization. Dangle the possibility of living wage laws and a workers’ bill of rights. Announce that the age of privilege is over and the age of the common American has dawned. Call out corporate greed at every opportunity. Evoke Franklin Roosevelt’s dictum that a government controlled by organized money is as dangerous as one controlled by organized crime.

7. Adopt sensible protectionist policies. Free trade is the biggest fraud ever perpetuated on American workers. The current logic of free trade is to protect cheap imports so Wal-Mart can underpay its workers and sell Americans low-quality goods that drive up the deficit. The horse has left the barn for many manufactured goods, but there’s no reason not to protect bio-medical technology, newly developed high-tech products, green technology, and any other goods that are currently competitive. When investors moan, counter that the health of the U.S. economy is more important than the health of their portfolios and that it’s up to the leaders of China, Mexico, etc. to take care of their own economies.

8. Put in place incentives to save. Americans need to reduce their personal debt but current policies encourage overconsumption. How about threatening banks with a rise in the prime rate unless they raise interest rates paid to savers? Why hold onto money if it earns less than 1% in interest? Raise that to 5% and savings rates will go up.

9. Get out of the rights game. Voters simply don’t like things that smack of special privilege. Repackage rights as “privacy.” Don’t support gay “rights;” say that it’s nobody’s business what two consenting adults do. Don’t say that women have the “right” to an abortion; say that it’s immoral for one person to force their beliefs on another. Insist that every group must be treated equally, not that any one group gets special consideration. Remind Americans that no one has freedom of religion unless everybody does. Remind them also that once government regulates one kind of behavior it opens the door to regulating other kinds.

10. Get out of Iraq—now! Call it George Bush’s mistake and announce the time has come for Iraqis to control their own destiny. Hold parades for the troops. This sinkhole in no way justifies the $9 billion per month we’re spending, let alone the lives lost. Put the money toward the deficit. Don’t look back.