Obama's Clarity Wins the Day — Again
By wchung | 22 Feb, 2025

Pundits are underestimating once again the power of Obama's clarity of mind and speech.

Bad leadership panders to confusion and creates more. Good leadership clears up the confusion to win support for good leadership.

Barack Obama’s presidency represents a triumph of clarity. He fingered the problems plaguing the U.S. — crushing health-care costs, lobbyist-ridden government, partisan gridlock, pork-barrel spending, economic policies that were choking off real growth by favoring real-estate speculation. Obama kept himself out of the clutches of special interests by raising campaign funds from millions of ordinary citizens. He gave speeches that spoke plainly to the concerns of average voters. Then came the smoke bombs set off by desperate opponents — his pastor’s old sermons, his middle name, his association with a onetime Weather Underground member. Obama rose to those challenge as well — and thrashed them soundly.

Clarity has been his sword and shield, the flintlock rifle he keeps on the mantle for when he’s forced to stop plowing and defend the homestead and cattle.

Now that he’s been in the office a year and hasn’t magically reversed a jobless rate that resulted from perhaps three decades of structural erosion caused by a speculation-based economy (not just real estate but commodities, tech, you name it), his emboldened opponents are hurling more smoke bombs: he’s favoring Wall Street over Main Street with his bailouts, he’s spiraling the deficit out of control, he’s anti-business. The smoke bombs have taken their toll. Obama’s approval rating is now only slightly higher than his disapproval rating. His support among independent has slipped below 50%.

Now that the world is no longer teetering on the brink of another Great Depression, some have forgotten.

With probably a mix of reluctane and relish Obama has pulled himself away from the endless series of papers and meetings to take up again his trusty sword and shield. He delivered a magnificent State of the Union that served as notice that he was up to the challenge. Since then he has been making speeches on job creation, health-care reform and, today, his pro-business policies.

Pundits and even some democrats are predicting a swing of the pendulum away from Obama. It’s amusing to me to hear this because I heard it several times during his long, grueling campaign against just about everything — conventional wisdom, a crowded field of quality primary opponents, Hillary Clinton, John McCain. Abe Lincoln faced the same kind of skepticism throughout his career. Watching Barack Obama slowly but surely dismantle the opposition is one of the more delicious dramas in the media these days, even more interesting than the tortuous path Tiger Woods will have to walk before a fickle world is kissing his feet again. And the Obama drama will have much a bigger impact on our lives.

02-10-2010 10.51