President Barack Obama was elected in November by the largest electoral margin in 12 years. His campaign gained momentum through his use of inspiring oration and rhetoric that promised a change in the political system associated with the failing Bush administration. He gathered support that the previous democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry, did not have, and he entered the White House with a 68 percent approval rating.
On election night in November 2008, Columbia students flooded the streets in celebration, making Broadway unnavigable to cars and buses.
Since then, President Obama has faced a steady decline in popularity and now finds himself, and his administration, in a highly bizarre set of circumstances that may hinder his ability to deal with crucial items on his agenda.
Both the House and the Senate still have overwhelmingly democratic majorities, majorities believed by many to be quickly disintegrating. The special election in Massachusetts broke the “filibuster-proof” majority in the Senate and prompted Harry Reid to say “We [the Democrats] are not on health care now.” Senator Reid, perhaps the most vocal and recognizable ally to President Obama as the Senate majority leader, is himself a victim of rapid popularity decline in his home state of Nevada. An article appearing in the New York Times speculates that the Reid may lose his seat in this year’s approaching midterm elections.
President Obama now has on his hands an embittered Republican Party whose members will staunchly oppose the health care bill as it stands as well as clouds of uncertainty gathering above his go-to man in the legislature.
His problems, however, do not stop there. Since the beginning of his administration, President Obama has shown himself to be resolutely against the corporate tycoons that so many Americans see as responsible, in large part, for the economic crisis. Normally, this would not be a problem for a president hailing from the party so firmly in control of both houses of Congress. However, a change occurred on Thursday, Jan. 21 when the Supreme Court decided to overturn the bulk of McCain-Feingold. Because of this ruling, President Obama is forced to deal with being the enemy of large corporations that can now throw more weight than ever before behind politicians running against the Obama administration’s agenda. It should not come as a shock if Republican contenders for seats both in the House and Senate show their support for big business in the approaching midterm elections. Add to this the fact that President Obama spoke of enacting further penalties on the nation’s largest banks during Wednesday’s State of the Union Address, and the president who was elected on populist rhetoric seems to be walking into a financial David versus Goliath scenario. But even the populist sentiment that has seemed to sustain Obama is diminishing, as he sports one of the steepest declines in approval ratings ever measured by a Gallup poll.
President Obama, his administration, and the Democratic Party have very few good options. David Brooks, a columnist for the New York Times, advised a “weak and feckless approach” for the Democratic Party in an recent article. I would go even further and urge the Obama administration and its democratic allies to make apologies and concessions to the people they have made enemies of. Republicans are solid in their opposition, the American populace fixes the blame (as usual) on those in power, and the Supreme Court has just opened the door for a torrent of powerful and unseen opponents.
Obama collected strong student support at Columbia and other institutions because of his charisma and apparent empathy toward younger people’s problems. Now, however, our generation faces titanic amounts of debt that we will begin to pay just as we enter the workforce. Much of the money owed is for programs that do not affect us. The generation currently entering adulthood feels exploited and stuck with a bill for something we did not order.
In my mind, there can be no positive change, as President Obama promised during his campaign, without help from classic political techniques. Compromise, moderation, and step-by-step reform should be the focus of this administration. The president already spent an enormous deal of his political capital on the stimulus package and perhaps just as much on a not-yet-delivered health care bill. Without support from previous or current adversaries, this administration will become a lame duck at best and a one-term presidency at worst.
The author is a Columbia College sophomore.
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