-
- DickMorris.com |
- Archives |
- PBP Archives |
- FAQ |
- Contact |
- Register
Published in the New York Post on August 18, 2008
Last week raised important questions about whether Barack Obama is strong enough to be president. On the domestic political front, he showed incredible weakness in dealing with the Clintons, while on foreign and defense questions, he betrayed a lack of strength and resolve in standing up to Russia’s invasion of Georgia.
This two-dimensional portrait of weakness underscores fears that Obama might, indeed, be a latter-day Jimmy Carter.
Consider first the domestic and political. Bill and Hillary Clinton have no leverage over Obama. Hillary can’t win the nomination. She doesn’t control any committees. If she or her supporters tried to disrupt the convention or demonstrate outside, she would pay a huge price among the party faithful. If Obama lost - after Hillary made a fuss at the convention - they would blame her for all eternity (just like Democrats blame Ted Kennedy for Carter’s defeat).
But, without having any leverage or a decent hand to play, the Clintons bluffed Obama into amazing concessions. Hillary will speak on Tuesday night in prime time. Chelsea will introduce her. She will get to play a film extolling her virtues produced by Harry Bloodworth Thomason. Bill will speak on Wednesday night. Hillary’s name will be placed into nomination. She will get to have nominating and seconding speeches on her behalf. And, on Thursday night, the last night of the convention, the roll call will show how narrowly Obama prevailed.
So Obama gave away Tuesday night, Wednesday night and part of Thursday night to the Clintons. It will really be their convention. A stronger candidate would’ve called their bluff and confined the Clintons to one night on which both Hillary and Bill spoke (he would have outshone her). He would have blocked a roll call by allowing a voice vote to nominate by acclimation. He would have stood up to the Clintons and recaptured his own convention.
If Obama can’t stand up to the Clintons, after they have been defeated, how can he measure up to a resurgent Putin who has just achieved a military victory? When the Georgia invasion first began, Obama appealed for “restraint” on both sides. He treated the aggressive lion and the victimized lamb even-handedly. His performance was reminiscent of the worst of appeasement at Munich, where another dictator got away with seizing another breakaway province of another small neighboring country, leading to World War II.
After two days, Obama corrected himself, spoke of Russian aggression and condemned it. But his initial willingness to see things from the other point of view and to buy the line that Georgia provoked the invasion by occupying a part of its own country betrayed a world view characterized by undue deference to aggressors.
We know so little about Obama. His experience is so thin that it’s hard to tell what kind of a president he’d be. While he nominally has been in the Senate for four years, he really only served the first two and consumed the rest of his tenure running for president and disregarding his Senate duties.
So we have no choice but to scrutinize his current transactions and statements for some clue as to who he is and what he’d do. In that context, his reaction to the first real-time foreign-policy crisis he faced as a nominee leaves his strength in doubt. So does his palsied response to the Clintons’ attempt to make Denver a Clinton convention.
Is Obama an over-intellectualizing Hamlet who is incapable of decisive, strong action? With Iran on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons and Russia resurgent, there isn’t much room for on-the-job learning.
 |
Comments
Only subscribers to Dick Morris' '08 Play-By-Play may post comments. You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] DickMorris.com Share […]
The similarity between Obama and Carter is clear. Were Obama to lose this election, would we then see him, like Carter, running around the world criticizing the USA and making nice with every ruthless leftist dictator in the world? Since the Obamas already seem more than willing to place blame on the United States for all of the world’s problems, I suspect the answer to this question is yes! The Obamas happily spent twenty years listening to the wretched Reverend Wright heap racist hatred on our country. I believe they would be right at home with someone like Jimmy Carter. There is a very good reason that Barack now feels the needs to keep declaring his patriotism and love of country . . . his past actions and associations tell the tale of one who does not love this country. I believe he is a phoney and a liar!
Dick,
Keep up the great work.
While I realize the russian threat may have precluded this, wouldn’t our efforts in the war on terror be enhanced by German rearmament?
If so, wouldn’t a “redeployment” out of Germany encourage germans to help us to protect themselves?
Or, do we need to wait until there are fewer alive with WWII memories?
G3
[…] Morris is rather more pointed in his criticisms. He makes it clear that Obama himself is responsible for his […]
Dick: You said that Obama showed incredible weakness in dealing with the Clintons, while on foreign and defense questions, he betrayed a lack of strength and resolve in standing up to Russia’s invasion of Georgia. The days of the Clintons honoring themselves will come to a close. The Democratic storekeepers see the Clinton’s dominance of the DNC as symbolic only. It is part of the political con game. I wouldn’t judge Obama by this particular circumstance….as as far as being pushed around…don’t confused symbolic sweetness with weakness…sweetness is strength. And as far as standing up to Russia’s invasion of Georgia, well he is only the presumptive nominee……that is still an issue for the current Bush Administration to deal with….and believe me in reality,the Bush Administration has said and done less than Obama.
Hillary Clinton is going to pay a permanent price among the party faithful for sabotaging Obama’s candidacy by placing her name in nomination and taking control of the DNC. She is going to continue demoralize herself along with here staunch party supporters and will be able to join Liberman in January as a party outcast. I believe that Obama has yet to play his major political cards and everything we see and don’t see is just pure political conjucture and speculation.
It appears that the Clintons are prevailing in the battle to undermine Obama’s candidacy…however, sometimes we often forget that a mouse trap always offers “free cheese.”
Everyone seems to know what the other person is going to do…..that always amazes me. The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created… created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the “maker and the destination.” I think Obama will surprise all of us……..including you Dick.
Quote of the Day Aug 20
Dick Morris : If Obama can’t stand up to the Clintons, after they have been defeated, how can he measure
[…] Dick Morris points out this week in his weekly column that Barack Hussein (that’s right I said it..) Obama doesn’t have sufficient backbone to be our next President. I couldn’t agree more. […]
[…] Dick Morris points out this week in his weekly column that Barack Hussein (that’s right I said it..) Obama doesn’t have sufficient backbone to be our next President. I couldn’t agree more. […]