President Obama is the Best President He Can Be

I believe that President Obama is probably being the best president he knows how to be.  The problem is his best is woefully short of adequate.  This man was nominated on the thinnest of credentials and he has found himself distressingly overwhelmed by a job far beyond his ability.  He certainly is not the first person I have seen who is educated beyond his intelligence, or promoted beyond his talents.  Unfortunately, his handlers (the same people who created his candidacy and thought they could manage his presidency) counted on two things, neither of which materialized.

First, the, “President makers” hated George W. Bush (a good president who only looks better with time) so much that they were sure the problems he faced couldn’t be real problems.  They had to be just miscues and misinterpretations by a dimwitted, swaggering Texan.  It turns out, these problems were complex enough to stymie a nuanced-up-the-tailpipe, self-absorbed Illinoisan.  There are no easy answers and, at this pivotal time, many of the issues require a complete overhaul of contemporary wisdom.  We can not count on 20^th century economics to solve 21^st century difficulties. 

There is a joke in economic circles that goes like this, “How many economists does it takes to make a speech?”  The answer is, “Twenty, one to make the speech and 19 to run around the room holding everything constant.”   The point being that in economic models, like in science, one has to consider just one variable at a time.  But the things which must, “remain constant” for any economic model to work simply are not going to be constant in a global economy with instant access to information.  The people who created the economic models we now accept as gospel never anticipated a world where we can see riots in Greece in real time and know that they are caused by government dependent workers facing the death of the golden goose.   We can then see similar petulant, “I want what I want when I want it.” foot stomping on the part of the Wisconsin trough chompers and connect some very unpleasant dots.  The branch of economics called, “Rational Expectation Theory” is manifested in spades! 

The second thing the President-makers were counting on was the overwhelming charm of President Obama.  Always the victims of their own refusal to consider any opinion other than their own, these pundits were sure that the world would be so in love with the idea of this President that they would overlook his performance.  Who needs a car than runs well when it looks so darn good in the driveway?  It may sound foolish to think the average person doesn’t care how good a President is as long as he says the right things, but remember; the people who brought us Obama also think that the average person is an ignorant, easily manipulated boob.  We are both undervalued and overlooked all at the same time.  

So we have an unimaginative President, trying like crazy to be the best person he can, but lacking the core requirements.   He is surrounded by advisors hell bent on creating a socialist democracy in America reminiscent of the same European models that are failing one after another before our eyes.  We have problems that require pragmatic execution guided by firm theoretical belief in democracy, capitalism, and individual liberty.  To find that combination you need a Republican not a Democrat.   I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say, specifically, I’m thinking of Jon Hunstman or Mitt Romney. 

We need a strong President who can keep the faith.