To: TideGlider who wrote (986572 ) 12/10/2016 11:06:39 AM From: FJB 3 RecommendationsRecommended By
Respond to Obama’s Second Term Was a Complete Failure nationalreview.com Washington Post picks the biggest political loser of the past year.In 2013, Cillizza’s selection was Barack Obama. He cited the botched rollout of Healthcare.gov, the NSA domestic-surveillance scandal, the IRS’s targeting of tea-party groups, and the continuing questions about the administration’s actions before, during, and after the attack on Americans in Benghazi. In 2015, Cillizza picked two co-“winners,” Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. The reasons were obvious. By December 2015, it was clear Bush’s odds of winning the nomination were small and shrinking quickly. Clinton, meanwhile, looked likely to emerge bloodied from the Democratic primaries after a tougher-than-expected fight with Bernie Sanders.This year, Cillizza assessed the surprising post-election political landscape and selected “ The Democrats” : The Democrats may be effectively locked out of power in all three branches of government for years. At the state level , after last month’s elections, they’ll control only 16 governorships and 13 legislatures. The size of the Republican primary field — for which the GOP was relentlessly mocked — was also a sign of the party’s health up and down the ballot. Democrats simply didn’t have the political talent to put forward 17 candidates (or even seven). That’s partly because there’s been limited opportunity to move up in the leadership ranks. Pelosi (Calif.) and Reps. Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) and James E. Clyburn (S.C) have had a death grip on the party’s top congressional slots for a very long time. It’s also partly because the Democratic farm system is hurting.President Obama’s second term has been a terrible failure for the country. A nation that is pleased with the status quo — a nation that feels prosperous, safe, and confident about the future — doesn’t choose to roll the dice with Donald Trump. ill-timed forthcoming book argues that “in the eyes of history, Barack Obama will be viewed as one of America’s best and most accomplished presidents.” CNN’s Fareed Zakaria recently offered a two-hour special concluding that America failed its president: “It remains unclear if the country was ready for Barack Obama’s vision.”These are strenuous efforts to avoid the obvious: Obama’s ideas didn’t work. He failed to deliver what he promised. more reassured about their ability to get the medical help they need at a price they can afford. If Obama’s counterterrorism policies worked, Americans wouldn’t have been left shuddering at attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando and Boston and Chelsea.Meanwhile, ordinary Americans dealt with real problems. Meth and opioid addiction tore through small towns like a storm. Decades of unchecked illegal immigration changed the dynamics of the workforce. Endless promises of education never came to fruition; the traditional path of life, of a steady, well-paying job, a home, marriage and children seemed like a naïve dream. Millions of Americans who had voted for Democrats in the past felt forgotten, abandoned, mocked, and sneered at. The Democrats didn’t just have a bad year. Whether they can ever bring themselves to admit it or not, they’ve had a bad term. — Jim Geraghty is National Review’s senior political correspondent
