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Even long
honeymoons come
to an end.
Now six months
into his term as
President,
Barack Obama’s
long-enjoyed
popularity is
starting to show
signs of wear.
Recent polls
show his
approval rating
slowly
declining, and
dipping below
50% for the
first time in
his presidency
on July 24th.
The drop is
particularly
pronounced among
unaffiliated
voters, with
whom Obama now
has only a 37%
approval rating.
This trend line
raises several
questions: what
has Obama done
to precipitate
this decline?
And
what opportunity
does that open
for Republicans?
Obama's
declining
popularity is
not unexpected.
No one can
maintain the
kind of high
expectations
that accompanied
his
inauguration.
But the decline
is also
reflective of
his abandonment
of several key
campaign
promises.
Throughout the
2008 election
season,
then-Senator
Obama spoke
eloquently
of
a new era of politics that would put aside hyper-partisanship and make
government work
for the people.
One
practical step
he promised was
to post on the
Internet the
text of every
bill that came
to his desk at
least five days
before he would
sign it, thus
increasing
transparency of
government.
Unfortunately,
that pledge has
been
honored primarily
in the breach.
In
fact, the very
first bill he
signed was never
posted online,
and a number of
other important
bills that he
has signed since
were not posted
for at least
five days.
Honoring
that pledge may
strike some as
more symbolic
than
substantive.
But in politics
symbolism often
sends a very
powerful
message.
Further, despite
his promises of
bipartisanship,
he has shown a
willingness to
ram through
critical pieces
of legislation
on nearly
straight
party-line
votes.
I
was discouraged
to read recently
that White House
Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel and
Senior Advisor
David Axelrod
both said that
passing the
health care
reform bill on a
strictly
partisan basis
in the next
several weeks
was more
important than
taking the time
to build a
bipartisan
solution.
For more than 60
years,
presidents from
both parties
have been trying
to pass
meaningful
health care
reform. There
is no doubt we
need it now more
than ever.
But
that does not
mean we should
be rushing
through a bill
that carries a
price tag of
$1.5 trillion
over the next 10
years and that
could
fundamentally
alter more than
15 percent of
our entire
national
economy. It
seems that the
Senate is having
the same
thoughts and
doubt that they
can get
something done
on healthcare
before the
August recess.
“We're looking
to fundamentally
change the
status quo in
Washington,”
Obama said
during the
campaign.
Americans did
not vote for
Barack Obama’s
politics
as much as they
voted for a man
who inspired
them to believe
that, “Yes, we
can” change
Washington.
Now,
as he breaks
from the ideals
he espoused, the
centrist voters
that helped
elect him
president are
becoming
disillusioned.
…as [Obama]
breaks from the
ideals he
espoused, the
centrist voters
that helped
elect him
president are
becoming
disillusioned.
Recent poll
numbers are
particularly
noteworthy
because, as I
have said
many times before,
centrists are
the key to
victory in this
country.
The Times
of London
noted after the
2008 election
that, “For all
the
transformation
in U.S. politics
wrought by the
past four years,
Americans
themselves do
not seem to have
undergone any
great
ideological
conversion.”
Just as in 2004,
22 percent of
voters in 2008
identified
themselves as
liberal (it was
21 percent in
2004), 45
percent as
moderate and 34
percent as
conservative.
This is still a
center-right
nation, and I am
sure the
President views
his declining
popularity among
that group with
great concern.
The corollary is
the imperative
that we as
Republicans need
to rebuild our
support among a
constituency
that is crucial
to the GOP’s
future electoral
success.
To
reach centrists,
we need to
return to being
the party of
ideas.
We
cannot afford to
simply discredit
the Democrats’
programs;
we have to
propose
solutions and
show why ours
are the right
ones for
America.
To reach
centrists,
[Republicans]
need to return
to being the
party of ideas.
We cannot
afford to simply
discredit the
Democrats’
programs; we
have to propose
solutions and
show why ours
are the right
ones for
America.
When the House
of
Representatives
recently passed
the Obama
Administration’s
cap-and-trade
bill that was
fraught with
problems,
Republican
attacks on the
bill did not
focus on
specific
deficiencies.
They focused,
rather, on the
very concept of
cap-and-trade,
calling it
“cap-and-tax.”
The irony here
is that the
cap-and-trade
concept was
first used
almost 20 years
ago, under a
Republican
president, to
successfully
reduce acid
rain.
And
although I
listened very
carefully for a
constructive
alternative from
the Republicans,
I never heard
one.
Television ads
about health
care reform are
one way for the
GOP to present
some positive
proposals.
Such
ads will
of course
contain a
negative
portrayal of
Obama’s plan –
and utilizing
the
Congressional
Budget Office
evaluation of
it, which
demonstrated
that it will
cost us far more
than it will
save, is
certainly fair
game. But then
we have to show
what our
alternative plan
would be.
Finally, if the
Republican Party
is to court the
center-right
where the
majority of
Americans find
themselves, we
have to
reexamine the
issues on which
we focus.
With
the future of
health care
hanging in the
balance,
Republicans in
the Senate the
other week
decided to focus
on a concealed
weapons law.
Instead of
focusing on
issues that
appeal to a
minority of
voters, we
should focus on
the core
conservative
principles of
limited
government that
have served our
Party well and
made our country
great.
We need to earn
back the voter's
trust, and that
takes positive
actions as well
as thoughtful
criticism.
--###--
Christine Todd
Whitman is the
Founder and
Co-Chair of the
Republican
Leadership
Council.
Previously, she
served as
Administrator of
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency, and
Governor of the
State of New
Jersey.
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