Everyone wants Barack Obama to get off his ass and do something:
Dana Milbank, on today’s stock market plunge: “It’s not exactly fair to blame Obama for the rout: Almost certainly, the markets ignored him. And that’s the problem: The most powerful man in the world seems strangely powerless, and irresolute, as larger forces bring down the country and his presidency.”
Michael Tomasky: “In [Alan] Brinkley’s words, Obama’s presidency ‘is failing, and in danger of collapsing.’ Lacerating battles await him on the budget (surprise: the debt deal didn’t solve everything!). The economy is grounded. Obama needs to quit trying to transform politics and just focus on winning fights on behalf of a careworn middle class. Otherwise, politics is going to transform him into a nicely intentioned one-term president.”
Paul Krugman: “Earlier this week, the word was that the Obama administration would ‘pivot’ to jobs now that the debt ceiling has been raised. But what that pivot would mean, as far as I can tell, was proposing some minor measures that would be more symbolic than substantive. And, at this point, that kind of proposal would just make President Obama look ridiculous.”
Matt Yglesias, asking what the White House plans to do that’s comparable to FDR’s executive order devaluing the dollar by raising the price of gold: “Where’s your Executive Order 6102? Serious people acknowledge the existence of big political constraints. But leaders who feel constrained look for ways forward.”
All of this criticism might be well taken. Let’s just stipulate that it is. Here’s the question: what is it that you think Obama should do?
We can all name things we think he should have done in the past. But that’s water under the bridge. Right now, the economy is what it is, and the Republicans who control the House flatly won’t allow Obama to do anything about it. It hardly matters why. Maybe it’s because of legitimate ideological differences. Maybe it’s because it’s not in their interest for the economy to get better before next November. Maybe they’re just nuts. Regardless, they aren’t going to allow any action that might improve the economy in the short term. End of story.
So: what’s the answer? Do you think a bunch of hard-hitting speeches would make a difference? Do you think there are executive actions he could take? Do you think there are pressure points he could bring to bear to pull some Republicans over to his side?
This is a real question. I’m not trying to defend Obama or score debating points. I really want to know. What should Obama do?
