Finneran: President Obama—-Black and Blue and Badly Bruised

Friday, November 07, 2014

Tom Finneran, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

President Obama is our first black President. After Tuesday’s elections he’s now black and blue and badly bruised. Once again he suffered a serious shellacking at the hands of the American people. First in 2010 and now again in 2014 he has taken a drubbing at the polls. The President may be a formidable candidate when running against an exhausted Bush legacy, an erratic John McCain, or an uncertain Mitt Romney. But his policies and his execution have left a once-enamored nation shaking its head in disapproval. His final two years in office might prove to be the most miserable years in his storied career.

WINNERS-LOSERS-IDEAS-BEST QUOTE

BEST QUOTE of the 2014 campaign season comes from Seth Moulton, the newly elected Congressman from the North Shore speaking of Washington D.C’s disfunction and political gamesmanship---“It should not be what’s best for the Democratic Party or what’s best for the Republican Party, it should be what’s best for the American people.” Amen to that.

BIGGEST WINNER: We the people, now that all those vile political ads are off the air. We can finally breathe again rather than flinching at every commercial break on every show. The ads were terrible, ominous manipulations of the electorate achieved by simultaneously torturing candidates’ positions and the English language. The ads were rancid. Good riddance to them. Welcome back to Taco Bell, Dunkin’ Donuts, and various car ads. Welcome back to normal.

AN IMPRESSIVE WIN: Jeanne Shaheen, the Democratic U.S. Senator from New Hampshire who fought off the anti-Obama tidal wave, besting Scott Brown in a very close race. Brown ran a good campaign and he tied Senator Shaheen to President Obama’s every waking moment. Yet Shaheen’s years of service as a Governor and a Senator served her well. She raised ample money with which to defend herself and she avoided the trap of incumbent arrogance. She also sensed the danger early on, took nothing for granted, and reminded the voters of New Hampshire of her long Granite State loyalty. It was a big Democratic win in the midst of a national whuppin’.

TWO SCOTTS/ TWO TALES: Re Scott Brown, see above. He gave yeoman service to the Republican Party’s national efforts, forcing the Democrats to expend very serious money in defense of a suddenly vulnerable seat. He came within a whisker of unseating Senator Shaheen and he demonstrated that no one was immune from the risks of living in President Obama’s shadow. Scott Walker, the newly re-elected Governor of Wisconsin, won his third election in four years. Public sector unions poured resources into beating him, sending manpower and money in massive fashion. That Walker won once again, in “progressive” Wisconsin, vaults him into the 2016 national discussion. Stay tuned.

PORK SLAYER: Joni Ernst of Iowa might prove worth watching. She had the best ad of the entire campaign season based on castrating pigs on her family’s farm, “promising to cut pork and make ‘em squeal in Washington D.C.”. Funny stuff there and in perfect pitch with Iowa’s farming culture. Her Democratic opponent was an incumbent Congressman trial lawyer with a penchant for saying the wrong thing. A lawyer tied to D.C’s. miserable reputation vs. a woman who shoots guns and castrates pigs---that’s no contest in sensible Iowa.

HILLARY: She certainly tried, on behalf of Democratic candidates all across the country, to stem the political tide which was running against them. Her efforts, even in Arkansas, had no discernible effect as Democrats were marched to firing squads from coast to coast. At a minimum, she earned some political chits for the future. Yet political pundits are likely to label her one of the season’s losers.

AN IDEA: President Obama should consume an entire humble pie. He should meet with the Republican leaders pronto. He should acknowledge the spanking he received from the American people and, better yet, he should acknowledge his over-reach on several fronts. Re John Boehner, the Speaker from Ohio, the President should spend some serious time with him. Boehner’s dad owned a barroom. Boehner is one of nine or ten children and he worked sweeping floors in his daddy’s tavern. He’s from Ohio for God’s sake, the essence of middle-class America. Boehner likes to play cards, play golf, and have an occasional whiskey. What’s not to like about Boehner? Obama should marry him, finding common ground wherever possible while ditching his out-of-touch White House aides. Tied to a meaningful and public mea culpa, President Obama could bounce back with the American people and the Republican leaders, securing at the very least an early confirmation of his next Attorney General.

Carpe diem Mr. President. Seize the day.

Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio.