Is Obama Arrogant?

First off I need to apologize to you all for not blogging as much these past few days. I've been caught up with work and just generally being lazy at home BUT I do plan on getting back into the swing of things. The elections are only a couple of weeks away after all!

So to get back into it, let me direct you to Jonah Goldberg's piece in the LA Times today about Obama and his "arrogance". I'm putting that in quotes because I think the jury is still out on that. Personally I can see where Goldberg is coming from and he makes several great points. But what is a measure of a president? When faced with adversity? I can agree with Goldberg when he writes that Obama's team is wrong in thinking that a bad recession makes this the toughest time to be president, but with the election coming I think we'll really have an easier time deciding if Obama is truly arrogant.

Up to this point, legislatively, Obama has had it easy. Very rarely in these modern times do presidents get such huge majorities in both chambers of congress and, frankly, passing laws should have been very easy. But if the pundits are correct and the republicans make huge gains in November, Obama will be looking at a huge wall of "No!" to any laws he proposes. If he is willing to moderate himself politically I think we will see a more humble president than we've been getting.

And to me that is a sure sign that he's not as arrogant as Golberg is making him out to be. Any president that is willing to eat crow, admit their defeat, and move on is one that believes more in the office than themselves.

Do You Miss Bush?

Nile Gardiner of the UK Telegraph has a short piece on the recent rise in popularity of former president George W. Bush. I was kind of shocked to be honest. Are people that fed up with Obama that we've become so nostalgic for Bush? Personally, I'm not in the camp that misses him. That's not to say that I don't respect him, which I do, or that I didn't think he was a good president, which I'm still on the fence over, but I think his time was over when he left office. It was time for fresh blood and while the new president doesn't seem to be fairing well at all that doesn't make me pine for the good old days.

The reason I'll always respect Bush goes all the way back to 9/11. As I've mentioned before I went to Rutgers, which is fairly close to NYC and so pretty much everyone at that school had a link to someone who was there. (I won't get into my own personal links here, it's a long story.) I feel that in the days and weeks after the tragedy Bush really did a great job in channeling the raw emotions of the public and helped bring the nation. It obviously wasn't bound to last but his actions at that time really helped a lot of people get through all of it, I know it helped me a lot.

So what do you think? Do you miss Bush at all? Would you rather he still be president over Obama? Or do you think people are being unfair and not giving the current president a chance?

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!

Drudge is reporting that the White House is looking into the possibility of having Hilary Clinton combine forces and replace Joe Biden with her as vice-president. Frankly, as much as it pains me to say it, this is not a bad idea. Biden has been pretty much worthless as a vice. Typically that position has been as an attack dog for the administration, but Biden has been more effective at putting his foot in his mouth. As much as people hate him, Cheney actually did his job perfectly. And if anyone ever follows the greatest president of all time (hint: Teddy Roosevelt) one of the reasons he was attractive to McKinley was because of how out-spoken he was.

Having Hilary in there would be a good call. She would be exactly what Obama needs to bolster his public support in the polls. Her time as Secretary of State has given her the international clout Obama needs, she's been keeping her head down and staying out of pretty much all US politics so her like-ability numbers are way up, and she has the power of Bill on her side. The former president has done an amazing job rehabilitating his image over the years and that can rub off on her and in turn Obama as well. Also if the recent Gallup poll is to believed Obama's numbers among whites is abysmal: 36%. Clinton can lend her influence among women to help bolster his numbers and increase his chances at reelection.

Now in case you didn't read the article, no one from the White House has truly gone on the record and said that they are looking into it. Bob Woodward is the one who is really making the waves here about this rumor, but he's had his hand in the whisperati of the political elite for a very very long time, so this will probably be an idea that will gain more traction as time goes on. Especially if the elections are as bad for democrats as many are predicting.