The American Spectator

One of the most prevalent criticisms of President Bush was that he wouldn’t acknowledge that he made mistakes and thus stubbornly refused to alter his decisions based on new information. This charge was most prominently associated with his policy in Iraq. During the campaign, Barack Obama attacked John McCain for having a similar trait.

“We’ve seen this movie before,” Obama said at a May 2008 campaign event. “A leader who pursues the wrong course, who is unwilling to change course, who ignores the evidence. Now, just like George Bush, John McCain is refusing to admit that he’s made a mistake.”

Obama, we were told, was more self-reflective, substituting Bush’s coyboy swagger for sober introspection, which would allow him to admit error. However, with his political standing continuing to erode, President Obama is demonstrating the same type of intransigence that he once criticized in Bush.

Instead of acknowledging that the $862 billion economic stimulus package was a dismal failure that did not produce the promised four million jobs, his administration continues to tout it as a major success. Now, he’s announcing plans for yet another round of government spending, making the same arguments that he made when selling the original plan.

In addition, the New York Times reports that Obama is going to dig in on raising taxes on those earning more that $250,000 a year, even though many of them are small business owners filing as individuals. These marginal tax increases during a severe economic downturn come on top of a raft of new tax hikes as a result of the national health care law he rammed through Congress in the face of overwhelming opposition from the American public.

Obama captured the White House on the idea that he was different than President Bush, not just in terms of policy substance, but also in governing style. He may just lose the presidency by replicating one of Bush’s most prominent flaws.