In the history of mankind, many republics have risen, have flourished for a less or greater time, and then have fallen because their citizens lost the power of governing themselves and thereby of governing their state. TR

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The Debt Ceiling Debate is Already a Loss for Obama

I wanted to share with you this piece I did for POLITICO, which is running today.

The point of it is that it doesn’t matter too much who wins or loses in the short term on the debt ceiling – Obama already loses. From the piece:

What the debt ceiling imbroglio confirms for many Americans is that they are living in a world turned chaotic, a perilous place where things they thought they knew turn out to wrong and security they thought was their right is revealed as a mirage.

Not all the serious problems swirling about us are Obama’s fault, though some are. Others he has merely shown himself ill-equipped or incompetent to slay. But whether he is guilty or guilty by association, the Obama era is a time of instability and danger. And that’s bad politics for a president.

Hope you get a chance to take a look.

21 thoughts on “The Debt Ceiling Debate is Already a Loss for Obama”

  1. Very accurate, Keith. The last time I saw this level of pessimism was near the end of Jimmy Carter’s term when Hurrican Frederic rolled ashore and tore my hometown to pieces. You’ve managed to capture the state of domestic and foreign events, with the bizarre, almost surreal state they seem to be in.

  2. Good article, from a prose standpoint, loved ‘world spinning off it’s axis’, as well as ‘the country staring into a moonless night’.
    I sure hope that America has one more great leader somewhere. We watch with great dismay up here on your northern border.

  3. Excellent article Keith. I find it sad, after reading some of the comments, that not only are there still kool-aid drinkers out there….they are snorting the powder straight from the package.

  4. Good job, Keith.
    All the words from Obama’s camp wont spin away the facts of these perilous times with America in a void of leadership .. an average politician, but no leader..

  5. Good stuff, Mr. Koffler. I’m no financial guru, but I’ve had two friends email me today and ask if they should convert everything to cash. People are clearly on the edge of panic.

    1. I can’t tell you how much it hurt me when my 25 year old son, texted me this week… “mom, should I come home?”

      He’s a big strong libertarian brute and even he’s scared.

  6. “Ronald Reagan was reelected on the pitch that it was “morning in America.” Obama begins his reelection campaign as the country stares into a moonless night.”

    Says it all.
    Thanks, Keith.

  7. A very good article Keith.

    I thought that it summed up the state of things very well. What irks me is some of the responses posted over there on Politico. Wow! For example, #4 roameo who claims to be a independent says that you are a racist as does #6 crankyyankee but adds that we are trailer-trash teabaggers. What joy there is in the air.

    This is a battle over the direction of our country. Do we want it to be a federal government driven european-socialist style or a personal freedom/capitalistic style?

    Again, it was a good article and look forward to your next one.

  8. Things add up
    .In a very severe article about Obama’s caracter ,Peggy Noolan in the today’s Wall Street Journal concludes that President Obama is good at dismantling,not good at building and that he is a loser .And in America,nobody likes a loser.

    1. I think what a lot of people miss is that he’s doing the dismantling on purpose. They want to take the country down so they can rebuild it to their socialist dream. When is someone going to get a clue that socialism doesn’t work!

  9. Thanks everyone for your kind comments. I didn’t bring in the Jimmy Carter malaise comparison, as mentioned by William, but its on target. Then we had Iran hostages, high gas prices, inflation and general uncertainty. I think we’re in a similar place.

  10. MrObama always seemed to be a man who didn’t know how to swim, but was able to ride a large wave that eventually landed him on the shore. His supporters assumed that he was a great swimmer and now expect him to save people who are in danger of drowning.
    His minions believe that taking taxpayer’s money and giving it to others is good for the economy, just as public unions believe that their wages come from some vague deposit in their government’s cellar. Every dollar the government takes from us is one less dollar we have to spend is a concept that Progressives or the Lefties can’t mentally process.

    Your piece was well written and it seems that most of the commenters agree with your premise. The detractors are the usual name-calling defenders of policies that have failed us.

    OT: just a little
    Next to your excellent analysis was an op piece by WmYeomans that was a viscious tirade against those who want a smaller government, the dreaded tea party, His description of them as “terrorists” of the American way was just sickening and wrong. The name-calling just never ends with the Left.
    We all appreciate a balanced discussion and can listen or consider opposing views, but when Politico allows it’s contributors to frame their opinions around a word that scares Americans it’s no longer a opinion but a hit piece.

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