The “Obama doesn’t want to win” meme
“Obama doesn’t really want to be president any more” is a popular explanation for his lackluster performance in the October 3 debate—one that, unlike some of the others, actually makes a certain amount of sense and doesn’t involve accusing Romney of anything.
Is it true? I don’t pretend to have the inside info, but I’d say “Partly yes, but basically no. He wants to be re-elected.”
Note my emphasis: Obama wants to be re-elected. His ego demands it, although his ego would come up with a lot of self-absolving buck-passing excuses if he were to lose. Obama doesn’t like the work of actually being president, however; he likes the perks and the power.
Why would he like the work? It’s a tough job, and he’s never been a workaholic. Obama would prefer to be king and be able to command rather than lead, and he thinks he’d be a remarkably benevolent despot. He’d prefer to do everything by executive fiat and never have to ask Congress for anything at all. He disdains getting his hands messy, and he’s tired.
Tired. A great many people—many of them supporters—have noticed that. Why would Obama, one of our youngest presidents, and a seemingly healthy man, be so tired? One of the many notable things about Wednesday’s debate was the relative energy of the 65-year-old Romney compared the 51-year-old Obama. That’s somewhat odd. But the last four years have been a double-edged sword for Obama, giving him the power and adulation he craves but in a format that’s been more difficult than he expected.
I still firmly believe he wants to be re-elected, and that he believes a second term will be easier since he won’t have to worry about what the people think. But some part of him—what we might call the animal spirits part of him—is discouraged and enervated.
[NOTE: The tendency to be easily exhausted was one of the very first things I ever noted about him (see the date on this post). And Byron York makes the excellent point that Obama has always been easily bored.]
“Obama wants to be re-elected. His ego demands it, although his ego would come up with a lot of self-absolving buck-passing excuses if he were to lose. Obama doesn’t like the work of actually being president, however; he likes the perks and the power.”
Perfect description, Neo, I think your educational background in dealing with the human mind is shining through on this.
I thought he won’t mind if he loses because he’ll have opportunities as a Noble Laureate and ex-POTUS. All of them are less demanding than heading the nation.
Byron York’s piece was very interesting, particularly the timeline for Obama’s job changes. So he’s not even as experienced as I thought he was in politics and education.
My perception of O is that he was “satisfied” once he was elected. While carrying out his 1st term provided opportunity to make his mark (e.g., Obamacare), it provides even more opportunity to fail, to be mediocre and to be challenged. I think the risk outstrips the reward. He has never had to follow through on anything — student, law practice, law professor, author, state senator, U.S. senator. All of those things were stepping stones. There was an article a few weeks ago showing a $35m Hawaiian estate, purported to be sought on behalf of O if he loses the election. I think he’s always been focused on the “soft-landing” following the presidency — membership in the most elite ex-presidents club, tremendous wealth for making meaningless speeches, private jets, tinkering from up-on-high with global issues, and having no other day-to-day demands other than his family and glowing in his overwhelming success. It’s getting hard for him now and he’s not interested. He’s even less interested in getting reelected if both houses go to the Republicans, where he won’t be able to get a thing done and will look even more like an empty suit.
Agree completely that he wants to win, but doesn’t want to work at the job.
In the sports parallel, he would play hard as long as his side had a chance to win the game. But in practice he would offer a heartless effort when he bothered to show up at all.
So disordered is Obama’s ever conflicted persona that I believe his ego is sufficiently inflated to want to win a second term but constantly leaking the gas to serve it. If not for the MSM psychophants, useful idiots, suck-ups, and most importantly blowhards, who keep re-inflating his ego, it’s likely Obama would be exploring his options for a more regal and even less scrutinized sinecure.
My impression is Obama just doesn’t really care if he is re-elected or not. He’s just punching his ticket to get where Bill is.
Maybe it’s his Hawaiian youth, but Obama is a surfer. He loves the world of big ideas, and he surfs around to find what the cool people are saying. Then he takes that position without trying to understand the problem. That is why his positions are so incoherent. He was never able to use his experience on the ground (eg, as a community organizer) to really assess problems and possibly come up with new insights or alternatives to the recieved wisdom. Doing more than voting present would put him in a position where he might be challenged.
Of course he is tired. For the first time in his life, he has to weigh different positions put forth by his cabinet and advisors. He skipped intel briefings because he was too bored to read enough to ask any pertinent questions, and he didn’t want his briefers to see his incompetence. Valerie Jarrett is his favorite person because she never asks any hard questions and he never has to do his homework with her.
expat says, “he has to weigh different positions put forth by his cabinet and advisors.”
Do those guys/gals actually offer different positions, or are all their positions “yes”?
“Obama doesn’t really want to be president any more”
For once, he and I are on the same page. I don’t want him to be President any more either.
MJR,
Leon Panetta has taken some different positions since he became SoD. And Bob Gates probably offered some too. I wonder how many people have stayed on with Obama because they hoped to contain the damage. I suspect that there was a lot of dancing around, trying to decide what could be done without involving Obama. I hope thee will be a tell-all book about the Obama WH.
Neo: I continue to be impressed by your followers’ perspicacity. It is the main reason I follow your postings, which are themselves very enlightening and focused. Keep up the good work in these perilous times; redemption is at hand if we persevere.
foxmarks:
But in practice he would offer a heartless effort when he bothered to show up at all.
Spot-on. From Obama Thought He had WON the Debate…Until Aides Told Him He had Lost!
I am reminded of my difficult adjustment to college. While I had a good grades from a good high school, with high SAT scores, I found out the hard way that all of that was of no use in college unless I worked my butt off.
George Pal — love your metaphor!
Bernard: “Neo: I continue to be impressed by your followers’ perspicacity.”
Ditto on everything Bernard said; But, I had to look up the word perspicacity. See, I learn something new every day here at Neo-Neocons. Thanks!
expat, 3:16 pm . . .
I appreciate the information, as well as your subsequent remarks.
It must be difficult to be an Obama advisor when Obama is a thousand percent convinced he knows more than anyone, anywhere, anyhow.
Maybe it’s his Hawaiian youth
Life is so good in Hawaii, it’s hard to really apply yourself to anything other than enjoying yourself. Hawaii and Hawaiians (both ethnic Hawaiians and kamaainas, long term residents) are so laid-back (“Hang loose! Ain’t no big t’ing, bruddah!”) that it’s all too easy to kick back too.
One of the guys in my high school class (long-time readers may recall I graduated from Punahou) left the Islands to go to … MIT.
Yes, he left the easy living, warm, tropical, totally accepting, go with the flow Paradise to move to cold, miserable, uptight, snotty, rude New England (sorry, neo, but the truth is the truth), to start classes at the galactic capital of cutthroat hypercompetition and neurotic workaholism, a place with architecture that would make Albert Speer proud.
He lasted a semester, then came back to enrol at the University of Hawaii.
I’ve often reflected on the cultural bends he must have suffered.
His ego demands he be reelected. His work ethic or more accurately lack thereof would be quite content to semi-retire. “I have a certain laziness” was a rare but honest moment of self-reflection.
After the Presidency, I expect Obama to emulate Clinton. Golf and the highly lucrative speech circuit will occupy most of his time.
I would love to see a tally of how many days of his presidency he’s actually been in DC in the office as opposed to golfing, entertaining visitors, fundraising, on the stump for Obamacare or some other thing he’s trying to sell us, or on vacation. Even when he’s working, his published schedule is unbelievable slight for the “leader of the free world” (and his first appointment is never before 10:00am).
Also, unlike past presidents, we’ve never been given detailed health information for Obama. All he provided as a candidate was a 2 page summary from his physician (vs. 1000+ pages from McCain). After last week’s debate, I wouldn’t be shocked to hear that he’s either dealing with a health issue (causing fatigue), or Maher & Snoop Dogg were right about drugs.
“After the Presidency, I expect Obama to emulate Clinton. Golf and the highly lucrative speech circuit will occupy most of his time.”
…and build the grandest presidential library evah.
Off Topic:
re Politico piece
which is ostensibly an anonymous insider’s account of how Ann and Tag Romney led a family rebellion to “allow Mitt to be Mitt”, i.e. to allow Mitt to be the moderate he truly is, and to allow Mitt to be warmer on the campaign trail via telling personal stories, and to henceforth not confine Mitt to criticizing Obama economic policies, but rather to allow Mitt to publicize his own agenda re economics, foreign policy, spending, and energy.
Except, I don’t trust Politico, and I wonder if the piece is actually a hit piece in disguise.
The piece claims that Mitt, in the debate, unleashed his inner conservative re economic policy, thus creating conservative enthusiasm which completely reshaped the race, and the polling results re the race. So, what lesson did the Mitt team draw from the fact that conservative enthusiasm completely stood previous polling on its head? According Politico, this lesson:
What?! Can even the clueless Romney campaign be THIS clueless?! I hope not. I hope this is a hit piece.
It is true that undecided voters will decide the next POTUS. It is untrue that you win those votes via “talk[ing] in more moderate ways.” Ratehr, you win those ignorant (said with love) voters via creating enthusiasm amongst informed conservative voters. Undecided voters then notice that their conservative friends and acquaintances are extremely enthusiastic. It is this dynamic: undecided voters noticing enthusiasm for a candidate, which causes undecided voters to make a voting decision.
Which is to say: this dynamic: “talk[ing] in moderate ways”, is the path to defeat.
A candidate does not win via pandering to undecided voters. Those voters are ignorant: how can ANY informed voter not already know EXACTLY who they favor in this election? Re undecided voters: there is no there there.
The recent debate, and the resulting polling tsunami, is the best possible example to show that you win undecided voters via creating enthusiasm amongst conservative voters. If Romney isn’t absorbing the lesson, then he is not the excellent executive which I hope he is, and he may yet lose an unlose-able election.
But, still, I am saying the Politico piece is a hit piece. If the Romney campaign wanted to leak an “insider” story of their campaign, why would they leak it to Politico?
Wow. I am html incompetent.
For what its worth, I think BHO is deeply conflicted. As others have remarked, BHO is enthralled with the title but doesn’t really want to do the hard work required. He has admitted in the past that he is fundamentally lazy.
It may also be that he is just smart enough to realize he has created a mess of the economy and seriously downgraded the financial soundness of the nation. By now he may have also realized he hasn’t a clue about how to turn the situation around. Plus, BHO will not want to be the one holding the hot potato when the economy he has created dips back into a deep recession, if not an outright depression.
Additionally, there are dark clouds on the horizon as his former supporters at Goldman Sachs and elsewhere on Wall Street have deserted him. So November 6 might be a nice time to blame his defeat on racism, Bush, the Euro crisis, and bible thumping gun clingers. The weather is nice in Hawaii, much nicer than Chicago.
gcotharn – I think that Politico story is aimed at demoralizing/suppressing enthusiasm for Mitt by the Tea Party/conservative types. The original complaint about Romney during the Republican primary was that he was the least conservative of the bunch.
Folk, you’re looking straight at the Gonnabee psyche — per John Wareham.
Off camera, the boy is certain to have all manner of ‘balancing’ ticks and ‘illnesses.’
No way has he given up cigarettes.
http://www.amazon.com/Warehams-Basic-Business-Types-Managing/dp/0689117566/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349818242&sr=1-9
“a place with architecture that would make Albert Speer proud”. As someone who toiled in the bowels of M.I.T. for over twenty years, I can tell you conclusively that’s wrong. His reaction would have ranged from shame to horror if he’d ever gone inside.
“Obama doesn’t like the work . . . he likes the perks and the power.”
OMG yet another petty bureaucrat, or as the French call them petit fonctionaire (which actually sounds more apt).
And this one’s in the oval office.
He will not be “turned.” –Lucas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKtciRCVpFE&feature=related
Obama, the poop eating dog, responds to his critics: Woof. Wof, wooooof, woof wof wof, (incredible lip curl) hear me roar, wooof, woof and woof. –Conan at the dog show.
Ridicule them. Scorn them. Laugh at them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-fYFYoQUL4
I finally got to see some video (I had listened on the radio, with my Dem brother, and we had it much more close than viewers), and watched a minute of Mr. Obama’s staring at the podium, and not meeting Gov. Romney’s eyes, and once again thought: “I know that man. He is me.”
We are the same age, and of similar temperaments. I know what I would be like as a president. I don’t want me as president. Gov. Romney reminds me of my employers (all good ones, thankfully); Mr. Obama reminds me of me.
There is always the conscious / subconscious divide. Consciously he wants to win. Subconsciously; maybe not (nonstop fundraising gets in the way of golf).
Neo:
“Obama wants to be re-elected. His ego demands it, although his ego would come up with a lot of self-absolving buck-passing excuses if he were to lose. Obama doesn’t like the work of actually being president, however; he likes the perks and the power.”
That’s 100% right on. He must have been taken aback at how boring the actual job is: persuading others, honoring others, explaining to others, having to mix with others who aren’t your equals (after all, who would that be?). Of course part of the job is also learning from others, but for him that’s not even a consideration. Now that the Presidency has turned out to be not so grand, what’s the next step up?
texexec:
“’After the Presidency, I expect Obama to emulate Clinton. Golf and the highly lucrative speech circuit will occupy most of his time.’”
…and build the grandest presidential library evah.”
Omigosh, I’ve been so focused on getting rid of him I never thought about the library. Greek columns, hagiographic Hollywood-produced films, golf course, theme park, progressive university (however redundant), etc….It’s probably been in the planning since Day One.
Jan of MN,
The problem is that Obama can’t calculate the load bearing capacity of the walls. The whole thing will collapse and the styrofoam columns will become enviroment-polluting dust.
Greek columns, hagiographic Hollywood-produced films, golf course, theme park, progressive university (however redundant), etc….
I’m bracing to spend the rest of my life enduring saccharine rubbish about “what might have been” had the “right-wing” not ended the reign of Dear Leader, who was “fighting for the people.”
Think of the most emetic JFK hagiography, and exponeniate it.