Richard Cohen, the liberal columnist of the Washington Post was the first to point out that the best U.S. President to compare President Obama to, is President Carter.
More and more Obama is being likened to Lyndon Johnson, with Afghanistan becoming his Vietnam. Maybe. But the better analogy is to Jimmy Carter, particularly the president analyzed by James Fallows in a 1979 Atlantic magazine article, “The Passionless Presidency.” “The central idea of the Carter administration is Jimmy Carter himself,” Fallows wrote. And what is the central idea of the Obama presidency? It is change. And what is that? It is Obama himself.
Unlike Carter, Obama brims with energy and charm. His brilliance is not brittle but supple. Yet, another teachable moment is upon him and he seems lost. The country needs health care reform and a success in Afghanistan, and both efforts are going in the wrong direction. The message needs to be fixed and so, with some tough introspection, does the man.
Now, from the right, R. Emmett Tyrrell also compares Obama to Carter:
According to sources with whom I confer, the Obama White House is the most tightly controlled White House in years, with the president, Mr. Emanuel and White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod micromanaging practically everything. They make up what is called “the Politburo,” and the news story waiting to be written is that their control is as stultifying as was Jimmy Carter’s control of his White House. Stupendous failure is in the cards.
The Politburo follows no organizational flow charts. A source deeply rooted in official Washington tells me that when the president and his fellows want information from the National Security Council, they may go to its head, Gen. James L. Jones, or they may not. They may just call in one or two of his subordinates.
As President Carter found out, micromanagement and the Presidency do not mix well. And, micromanagment is directly at odds with the Presidential management style the electorate thought they were voting for.
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
As a veteran
itsallverbatim (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 10:32PM EST (link)and now a contractor a intelligence agency that isn’t abreviated CIA, I would hope he isn’t going to force us to relive Carter’s foreign policy blunders, too.
Botched rescue mission, anyone? How about reduction of nuclear arms? No missile shield in Europe? What about no pay raise for the troops; nay, a pay reduction to finance social programs.
While we’re at it, let’s abolish CIA and DEA (which RedState readers may or may not know is around the corner, poke around th e blogs and you’ll find that FBI is making a power play for interrogations of HVTs and taking over DEAs traditional role).
Hope and change, folks. Hope that Sarah can bring us Change in 2012. Because if not – people like me will cease being public servants. And you don’t want that. Case in point: CIA.
Abolishing the CIA
Dan Perrin (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 10:43PM EST (link)That is really “out there, like Pluto, I mean out there.”
If what you are saying is true, then President Obama is far more radical than anyone could have ever believed, or just dumb as a box of rocks or is on a Kamakazi political mission of his own making.
You sound very credible, but abolishing the CIA is unbelievable.
Is it?
itsallverbatim (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 10:51PM EST (link)The President chooses the Secretary of Defense.
ODNI (National Intelligence) is just that…an office. With a staff. It was meant to get the suits of CIA and DIA. It succeeded.
Pentagon controls 85% of intel spending right now. Why wouldn’t they fold it into the Pentagon? Why you ask?
1) spend less on defense and intelligence, killing two birds with one stone. They’re now in the same Department. “The White House and the Office of Management and Budget announced a $240 billion reduction in defense spending, a steep departure from Bush era spending…”
2) total control. SecDef —-> President. And yes; the National Security Adviser would have a say.
3) accountability. Anything covert goes south, and it’s the “unaccountable, reckless military industrial complex that must be reigned in!”
Hard to swallow, but many in the defense/intel communities have already reached this conclusion and are hunkering down. As for me? I feel sorry for all the newly graduated law students who were recruited by CIA and chose that over a firm in New York or LA. “I gave up Wall Street for THIS?!”
What you say
Dan Perrin (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 11:12PM EST (link)has the ring of truth and bears serious consideration and investigation.
Marvel at the genius and audacity of it all...
itsallverbatim (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 11:17PM EST (link)…contemplate the consequences.
As for the DEA thing
itsallverbatim (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 10:56PM EST (link)Look around. You’ll find what I heard.
Which is that the White House has asked (read: ordered) a deputy assistant director at FBI to run DEA.
Also of note: USAID: no Director. Most major State Department and DoD deputy slots: unfilled.
Rahm and Axelrod and working with Orzag to prepare for a drawdown.
Mentally prepare for it now or you will be like us here in DC circa December 2008: horrified and unable to sleep. Buenas noches!
The only thing Obama has tried to do so far is...
kyle8 (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 10:54PM EST (link)Nationalize whole industries, try and turn us into another failed socialist state, jam his cabinet full of extreme radicals, and talk up some insane grabs at total media control and censorship.
So it is very unfair to compare him in any way to the evil and mendacity of Carter.
“Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty”
Kyle
Obama = CCCP
Rusty_S (Diary) Friday, August 28th at 11:49PM EST (link)Carter’s Competence, Clinton’s Principles.
Obama/Carter Vol I
VinceP1974 (Diary) Saturday, August 29th at 12:28AM EST (link)Obama/Carter Vol I
C-Span on Carter - Obama
VinceP1974 (Diary) Saturday, August 29th at 3:52AM EST (link)This show aired just last week:
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/08/24/WJE/A/22395/Mike+Evans+Author+Jimmy+Carter.aspx
Washington Journal
Mike Evans, Author, “Jimmy Carter”
Monday
Mike Evans talks about his latest book, “Jimmy Carter, The Liberal Left, and World Chaos: A Carter/Obama Plan that Will Not Work.” In the book, Evans examines Pres. Jimmy Carter’s influence on U.S. policy in Israel.
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He’s scathing towards Carter
Glad the media are finally starting to catch up.
The_Gadfly (Diary) Saturday, August 29th at 5:55AM EST (link)I and others here on Red State were saying the same thing during the campaign season.
Interesting
jc1305us Saturday, August 29th at 11:37AM EST (link)I told my father a while back that if the US could survive the Carter presidency, we could survive anything. I hope i’m right!
Micromanagement
Jeff Weimer (Diary) Saturday, August 29th at 11:56AM EST (link)Is the hallmark of an inexperienced and less than confident leader.
Which we knew from the beginning of his campaign, yet so many still attempt to deny.
Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
-Voltaire
"His brilliance.........."
vech Saturday, August 29th at 12:18PM EST (link)It was difficult getting beyond these two words.
Distraction or Means to an End?
redneck_hippie (Diary) Saturday, August 29th at 12:28PM EST (link)If I understand you correctly, this may be more than playing politics. If so, what is the end (intention)?