In Over His Head

President Barack Obama continues to play the part of a great leader.  As an outstanding speaker he is an attention getter. 

He seems to believe that speeches alone will result in obtaining the legislation he wants.  The problem is that neither he nor his staff have done the in depth analysis to completely understand the consequences of the grand legislation that is part of his dreams for America.

While George W. Bush relied on others to develop the strategies for his administration, Obama has been the grand planner.  Their intentions were good but both men did not do the due diligence necessary to convince others that their objectives were worthwhile.  Obama still has plenty of time to correct this behavior.

Bush allowed others to devise the justification and plans for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.  He attempted to revise social security based upon the opinions of his advisors who did not represent majority thought.  He allowed others to manage the country’s finances.    

Obama, in his short time in office, has created a $787billon economic recovery act that has had little effect on the economy because too little of it has actually been spent.  The idea behind this bill was admirable but the implementation has been very poor.  Less than 10% of the allocated funds have actually been disbursed.

The war in Afghanistan is now being managed as the war in Iraq using a troop surge to gain control of that country.  The surge in Iraq idea was condemned by Obama but now he says is the right thing to do in Afghanistan.  Was Bush correct or is Obama wrong to use this tactic?  Efforts to dominate those nations have historically met with failure.  Why will the United States be more successful now?  Was the United States successful in Iraq?

Now we have a health plan that is called a cornerstone to Obama’s ideas for America.  Lacking in detail of costs and consequences, it is not a plan that most Americans will be willing to support.  Most people have medical insurance through their employer.  There is little or no reason for them to support this overhaul of medical care.  The changes proposed are similar to Bush’s ideas about changing Social Security in that the public is promised a better plan.

Obama’s biggest problem is that he has not involved himself in the legislation that he has proposed.  He asked Congress write legislation with only limited input from his staff.  Congress wrote laws that were in their best interest.  That is the reason that so little of the stimulus money has been spent.  That money is primarily going to projects that senators and representatives want, not shovel ready projects.  That is the reason health care legislation will not provide the needed reform.  Insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and other large health care providers donate millions to their representatives.  They have the influence.

Unfortunately Barack Obama is too naive to understand the impact of outside forces.  The truth is he is in over his head.