Barack Obama's Growing Disinterest in the Presidency

Reading Byron York’s article speculating Barack Obama is bored with being president, I feel confident enough to say what I started kicking around halfway through the state of the union speech; Obama is not going to run for reelection. I am not indulging in wishful thinking here. There are signs.

The easiest way I can describe Obama is that he reminds me of Bush 41. The elder Bush thought he was entitled to be president because it was the next logical step in his career path, not necessarily because he wanted it. Bush 41 had little to no interest in domestic policy. His staff often had to craft domestic issues in terms of foreign policy to hold his attention. For Bush 41, the nuts and bolts of running a country were not as interesting as leaving his mark on international affairs. The economic downturn of the time probably could have been lessened had he bee more dedicated.

Flash ahead to now. Obama was running on a high during the build up to his election win. He was a novelty act people were enamored with and it appealed to his narcissism. He liked drawing hue crowds who ate up his grandiose ideas of rolling back the oceans and healing the planet. He probably believed his own hype. Whether he did or not, I do not think he was prepared for the reality of being president.

The State of the Union speech is written by presidential handlers with very little input other than the overall tone, but note what the overall tone was--he was frustrated by not being able to do everything he wanted and blamed everyone else, including his own party, for it. Remember back in the first week after the inauguration when he told Republican congressional leaders they needed to accept his policy ideas because, “I won?” He was not just talking to them. He meant everybody needs to give him what he wants.

Remember that nothing is bigger than he is. The Olympics needed to come to Chicago because that was his hometown. The fall of the Berlin Wall was inexplicably a factor in his becoming president. His potential was justification in his own mind to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. All these claims he has made without an ounce of shame. Even now, at the lowest pint of his young presidency, he tells the Democrats his presence makes landslide losses election loses like in 1994 impossible for 2010. It is always about his ego, even when the reality is to the contrary to everyone else.

Nothing bursts an ego quite like failure. Obama has not been ableto pass much of any of his agenda, he has lost the respect of most of the world’s leaders, assuming heever had it, and worse yet, is dropping in popularity. I doubt he will beable to stand it for potentially another seven years.

Democrats are getting the picture as well. Hillary Clinton’s recent comments about serving as a one term Secretary of State can be oversold as a hint she wants to challenge Obama in the primaries, but it cannot be dismissed out of hand. The party is in complete disarray at the moment because Obama, the de facto party leader, not only cannot set an agenda, but cannot honestly take any responsibility for not doing so. Look what happened when Bush 43 lost his way. The republicans could not get things together and wound up with the 72 year old, grumpy party scold as its standard bearer. Certainly the Democrats were paying attention to that.

A couple things could happen to turn things around. The economy might have a turn around, giving Obama a boost. He may be looking forward to getting back among adoring crowds so much he will mount a hopeless reelection bid with the rationale he can win people back over with his wonderfulness, but in reality it is just his ego stroking. I do not know. Narcissists need very little encouragement to think they are the center of the universe and they can never be convinced it is not true. One can only wonder whether frustration will eventually overwhelm Obama to the point the quits.