1884 - Civil War Gen. William T. Sherman refused the Republican nomination for president with the words, “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.”
1888 - President Grover Cleveland vetoed a bill that would have given a pension to war widow Johanna Loewinger, whose husband died 14 years after being discharged from the army. He suffered from severe depression since the war, and committed suicide with a razor. Cleveland later becomes a poster child for the Tea Buggerer party.
COINCIDENCE? I think NOT
As I was reviewing various presidencies, trying to see what made a successful presidency, and what caused horrific failures, I came across one dude of whom I had read very little. Steven Grover Cleveland. Elected twice, with a 4 year vacation in between terms, Cleveland was the epitome of today's TeaBuggerers. Anti-immigration, a free-trader who hated tariffs, anti-labor (He attacked the Pullman strikers with federal troops) he refused to enforce the civil rights statutes passed after our very (un)Civil War. He was famous for refusing aid to veterans (vetoing dozens of bills intended to help them), and even refused to help Texas farmers after a devastating drought. He was the first Nordquist-esque small government pioneer. What he did to the economy was as bad as W. But I digress.
Has anyone else had this ominous, gnawing feeling of "WaDaFa?" with the democratic nominee for president? Sure, he gives a hearty speech when he wants, he raises people's spirits in person, and his low key, no drama approach is welcome. Mostly.
Unfortunately, there are major structural problems with his campaign, and in November, they can come back and bite him in the ass.
a. Wisconsin
What auto-lobotomized genius in charge of the re-election campaign decided to stay out of Wisconsin? Drawing, quartering, tar and feathers are simply too good for that person(s).
Wisconsin is exactly what several commentators noted - a microcosm of the US, a blueprint for November, and an opportunity to show millions around the country that we can stand up to the billions from Koch, Ricketts, and other ultraconservative asshats.
By studiously avoiding Wisconsin, by not even visiting the state once, by instructing, or at least approving of the DNC's brain-dead, hands off, and No Money approach, Obama played it safe. Taking a stand on Wisconsin could have easily highlighted the importance of labor and the damage that neocon, teaBuggered policies can cause. By playing it safe, no one can accuse him of meddling in local politics, to be sure, BUT by playing it safe, his whole campaign comes off as welcome and powerful as cold mushy oatmeal.
Had Obama come into this state, had he attacked and pointed out just how badly the people of that state were being served by Walker and Koch policies, he could have defined the debate like no one else in the world could. But he did not. He feared even stepping into the state, obviously a political decision concocted by his election bRain tRust.
What would have been the downside to coming to Wisconsin even once? Well, Mitch McConnell would have been screaming bloody murder. Cantor would be whining about not doing the nation's work. Boehner would have blubbered into his bourbon, complaining about how his is the most partisan administration ever. So FUCKING what?
They do that anyway.
So what if Rush bloviates about Obama's Wisconsin politic'ing? So what if Ann COulter gets on her high horse? So what if Fox News goes ape? Did avoiding Wisconsin prevent Fox from creating and airing a 4 minute anti-Obama Ad? Of course not.
Handled properly, Obama's support and presence could have and would have crystalized the national debate. Even if Walker won, the line would have been drawn in the sand, and the TeaBuggerers would eventually be forced to face the music. By avoiding the whole issue, Obama repeated his horrific blunder a couple of Augusts ago, when he stepped away from the media, refused to support or even define what he wanted in a Health Care act, and allowed his silence to be filled with Pre-TeaBuggered issues like death panels. Shame on him then, and shame on him now.
If we lose Wisconsin, we can and should blame, to some degree, the inexplicable, and unforgivable policies of Obama re-election folks and the DNC. Because we lost a great opportunity to define the debate, educate the public, and fight against the billionaires who are trying to buy this election, while they sell out the average worker.
b. No Dream project
Every successful president had a theme, a goal, a plan. Not this one. After his badly compromised health care plan, name one big idea that this administration has pushed forward. Can't do it, can you?
As election campaigns go, "let's keep the status quo" is one of the lamest, most ineffective, and lousy approaches one can attempt, especially when the economy is still in rocky straits.
Americans thrive on dreams. They love big ideas. They meet and beat challenges. But only if there is sufficiently brave and far-seeing leadership to sell them on a project.
Let's look at a few presidents and see how big ideas won the day.
FDR - More than anyone else, he set the tone for WWII. It became a fight of good against evil. It was a very expensive, very tough, very LONG DISTANCE war being fought on two fronts, in far away places that most Americans never saw, and rarely thought of. Before Pearl, a sizable minority was actually supporting Germany (Even Joe Kennedy). Another sizable minority wanted nothing to do with any foreign war. If joining WWII had been put on a ballot, it would have lost by a large margin before Pearl. FDR dreamed large, and effectively made his dream America's dream.
Eisenhower - Do you commute? Ever use our national highway system? Ever think about how easily one can travel from sea to shining sea - by car? Ike did that. He sold a dream (which was in part driven by military planning) that would revolutionize the USA and start huge economic growth in every state of the nation.
The federal highway system cost billions, put millions to work, and made transportation a far safer and simpler matter. He sold that dream to the states, and everyone benefited.
JFK - I just read that the Hubble has two twins, never used, brand spanking new, and still in their nitrogen atmosphere. Here, I was convinced that our eye in the sky was going to fail eventually, and that this congress would never fund its replacement. After all what good is science anyway? All science does is turn gawd fearin christians into Agnostics (yea!) and Atheists.
JFK changed all that. He made it possible. (sure, there were military applications, too) HE personally sold America on a dream - to put a person on the moon. an AMERICAN. Because so much of the technology had to be invented from scratch, that multi-billion dollar investment created:
computers
high tech materials
advances in medicine
advances in propulsion
advances in every single aspect of life that touches humanity. And to top it off, we actually landed on the moon and brought back bits and pieces of it. JFK did that, and for that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
Nixon - NIXON? Yes, Nixon. Take a look at his state of the union message where he introduced the concept of the EPA. Al Gore could have written it. He sold the idea of clean water and clean air to a nation not willing to spend the money and not believing that there was a problem. Because of Nixon, our lives are longer, healthier, and far better.
To be sure, each of these presidents had their issues, and some were even crooks. But they sold a big idea to America, and made America a far better place because of it.
c. caution is the overriding principle.
I don't care how many times I see Obama going out and attacking something about Romney or the intransigent GOP. Sure, it makes for a pretty picture, it fires up a couple of hundred people, and makes the GOP angry. Still, overall, the whole campaign stinks of one overriding odor. Caution. Timidity. Fear of making a mistake.
That does not win elections. Which candidate will excite the people more? Someone sitting back, not taking any risks for fear of losing or making a mistake? Or lobbing out ideas, plans, and pushing big dreams on people? Which candidate can ignite the spirit of America better?
Obama is lucky in one way. If there was anyone even more cautious than he (this time around) it would be Willard Romney.
I do not suggest that Obama become a Wild and Crazy Guy, but I do think that an overabundance of caution will not win this election. We face an incredibly motivated, rich, and tightly organized group of billionaires who will lie, cheat, steal, and do everything in their power to defeat Obama. Caution alone simply will not work.
d. Little or no bully pulpit activities.
This has been the hallmark of this administration from its start. There are tools available only to a president, and so far, Obama has done his best to avoid them. For the first two years, he was stuck in the erroneous belief that playing nice, being polite, and showing respect to his political enemies would win out in the end. He was wrong. His caution and compromise was properly viewed as a weakness, and the GOP took full advantage of him and his approach. The Obama Tax Cuts were a prime example of going to the middle, seeing the goal posts moved, and heading ever more to the right. In the end, he (and we) got the worst deal possible. The Tax Cuts increased the deficit, the small increase in unemployment compensation barely made a dent, and the stinking result taught the GOP how to beat this president each and every time. Had he used the bully pulpit then, attacked the greedy, and explained again and again, and if necessary, again and again and again, how the tax cuts would harm the country, we would have won that fight. But then, and on health care, and on so many other issues, Obama refused and refuses to use the bully pulpit.
There are other examples, but these points are causing me worry about this campaign. So my meager, unimportant, and guaranteed to be ignored recommendation is this:
a) Promote a BIG project for the next term. Space exploration, Medical Advances, damn, there are so many possibilities, that it is hard to choose. But whatever it is, make it big, make it splash, and make it work.
b) Use the Damned Bully Pulpit.
c. Take a chance. Take several chances. Even if one or more fail, the mere act of trying to do things will be appreciated.