The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Yes, I Hope Obama Fails

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Barack Obama now is indignant about conservatives allegedly hoping he fails -- as if that's a bad thing! "They're making the same calculation they made just before the inauguration: If I fail, they win," he said. "Well, they might think this will get them where they need to go in November, but it won't get our country where it needs to go in the long run."

Well, everything but the last clause is true, at least as far as this conservative, yours truly, is concerned. But let's be clear about how we want Obama to fail. Of course we hope he succeeds in doing things that will help this nation. We hope that his presidency leaves us stronger, freer, more secure, more prosperous, and less subject to social pathologies. Yet in order for this to happen, we believe he must fail in almost every one of his current pursuits. I believe that if Obama fails politically on the current course, the country will be better off. I want him to succeed for Americans by failing at his current course and then reversing course and succeeding on that new course. Since he does not seem inclined to do that, though, I hope he fails. It is precisely by him failing that we will "get our country where it needs to go in the long run." Obama seems to conflate his agenda with the only possible way to right the ship of state. He seems to believe that "l'etat, c'est moi." He's dead wrong.

So I do hope he fails. I hope he fails in making government bigger and more powerful. I hope he fails at passing any more stimulus or infrastructure spending. I hope he fails at his payoffs to union bosses and jackpot justice big-money plaintiffs' attorneys. I hope he fails at politicizing and corrupting the Justice Department. I hope he fails in almost all of his over-bearing regulatory schemes and administrative end-runs (some of them arguably illegal) around Congress. I hope he fails at raising taxes. I hope he fails at continuing to destroy what's left of the 1996 welfare reform bill. I hope he fails at subjugating American interests to the desires of supposedly elite international actors. I hope he fails at "transforming" America, which needs no transformation at all. I hope he fails, fails, fails, fails, fails. And the reason I hope he fails is not so somebody else can gain political advantage, but so the United States can thrive again -- free from the shackles imposed by a philosophical alien in the White House. Yes, Mr. President, in that sense I hope you fail.

View all comments (19) | Leave a comment

Siegfried X| 9.9.10 @ 3:38PM

One of your wishes didn't come true. RINO George Voinovich announced that he will give the 60th vote necessary to pass Obama's Small Business Stimulus.

So that's another victory for Obama before the election, courtesy of liberal Republicans.

This is more proof that a RINO is a Democrat, and we should always vote against them.

Alan Brooks| 9.9.10 @ 6:53PM

I got my Dem voting registration card a few days ago and am going to vote for Obama just to stop the GOP.

Interested Conservative| 9.9.10 @ 7:09PM

Limp, impotent and gutless, Alan; 2012 is more than two years away.

Tom Osterman| 9.9.10 @ 10:37PM

Let's see: the administration is pursuing "stimulus" policies that stimulate nothing but the deficit, seems bent on destroying the domestic energy industry, has staffed the White House with a set of leftist czars, etc., and the REPUBLICANS need to be stopped?

Booger| 9.9.10 @ 4:01PM

Dear President Obama,

Please allow me to assure you that although I am a conservative, libertarian-leaning-Republican voting, gun-owning, pro-life, Christian, church-attending, Southern, white male, I do not wish to see you fail. In point of fact, my sincerest desire is to see your presidency become a success. However, in order for that to happen, you will need to make a few changes in your current approach to governance. If you continue on your present course of governance, then your presidency will indeed be a failure, much to the chagrin of our nation as a whole. I do NOT wish to see you fail. I would LOVE to see you repent and become a success. Please do not confuse the distress with which conservatives, independents, and now even many liberals view your current course of action as a desire to see you fail. What we desire is to see you realize your mistakes and correct them, and to abandon the failed policies which drag down both your presidency and our nation.

Cordially,

Booger

Alan Brooks| 9.9.10 @ 6:56PM

IMO it is all about power; do what you have to do to rein in Obama, I'm fighting against the GOP.

CalMark| 9.9.10 @ 11:05PM

You're an obsessive, aren't you?

Tony Raskoon| 9.9.10 @ 4:09PM

"So that's another victory for Obama before the election, courtesy of liberal Republicans."

Not so fast. This will just drag out the recession even longer. This will not work. I do not believe the Dems can resist political payoffs and cronyism during the payout phase of this. They cannot help themselves. It's part of their illness. I also think small business will be very suspicious and cautious about hiring and expanding on the basis of one-time payouts when their taxes are due to go up about 5% and the costs of O-care are due to kick in.

Bad for the economy. However, it may be better that this gets passed and then spectacularly fails in accomplishing its goal than if it remained unpassed and the R's were blamed for denying the country an imaginary, Utopian way out of the recession. More campaign-fodder for 2012. Just wait. The details of the bill and the execution of its contents will be more dirt to pile on Keynes' grave, and to use in 2012.

There is no Santa Claus.

Grzmlyk| 9.9.10 @ 4:10PM

The whole brouhaha Rush Limbaugh set in motion when he said he wanted this piece of crap to fail back in 2008 shows not only how disengenuous the left is, but how the media can put wind in the sails of the most listless, dead-in-the-water story line by mischaracterizing the truth.

For months - nay, years - after Limbaugh said that, we had legions of liberals - politicians and pundits alike (what's the difference), who were indignantly and self-righteously shocked! Shocked! that a prominent conservative would want Obama to fail.

Of course the "wink, wink, nod, nod" abracadabra that gives the mischaracterization legs is that, even though every single one of these preening traitors knew damned well that Limbaugh meant he wanted Obama to fail at destroying the country, they simply repeated the lie over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again until it gained the imprimatur, if not of truth, at least of pop-culture currency.

Because the media were relentless in repeating the mischaracterization, what should have been a one-day story resonates even to this day. It is ludicrous on its face.

And why not? It always works when you've got the political class teeming with the punditry class to chant a false mantra.

Thus the success of other famous mischaracterations, such as "Bush lied, people died," which falsehood singlehandedly brought down the Bush presidency.

And don't get me started on the Valerie Plame mischaracterization; even AFTER Richard Holbrooke came forward and admitted that he had outed a CIA desk jockey WHO WASN'T EVEN UNDER COVER, the political-media complex repeated the lie in their desperate hunger to nail Karl Rove.

Even if they are rotten human beings, the Democrat-Media complex prove themselves time and again to be excellent alchemists: Time and time again they turn the lead of prosaic mischaracterization into the gold of political action.

The whole lot of them should be exiled. Or worse.

Siegfried X| 9.9.10 @ 4:23PM

Yes, and a big part of the problem was that the Republican politicians wouldn't respond. They are ashamed of talk radio, Tea Parties, and Republican citizens in general. So when ever the Democrat make a charge, it sticks because they are the only ones talking.

SoCon| 9.9.10 @ 4:51PM

Democrats are tanking in the polls and it's obvious their charges aren't 'sticking' these days, regardless of backstabbing RINO complicity.

Vote RINOs and democrats out! They should be ashamed of themselves.

Tony Raskoon| 9.9.10 @ 4:19PM

Whether or not anyone wishes this administration to fail is irrelevant. What they are doing and the way they are doing it cannot succeed in achieving their stated goals. Borrowing and taxing to throw money at the voters always costs more jobs than it creates long term. Compulsive, serial, servile apologies cannot substitute for an actual foreign policy. It simply cannot work.

Wishing this to fail is like wishing a falling rock to the ground.

Pete| 9.9.10 @ 4:55PM

Just wait until the infantile "you made me fail by wishing it so" charge is made. It's a good thing 6 year olds can't vote, as this logic might appeal to them.

S.L. Toddard| 9.10.10 @ 7:46AM

Remember when Republicans pretended to be outraged that Democrats wanted Bush to fail?

Hillary Hussien Kerry| 9.10.10 @ 8:04AM

Remember when liberals whined "Dissent IS patriotic?" Remember when John Kerry was for the war before he was against it?

Patriot| 9.10.10 @ 1:26PM

I remember when Hillary screeched about the value of dissent--my ears still hurt from listening to her rant.

Nate| 9.10.10 @ 11:51AM

Hoping Obama fails.

Wasn't this a Limbaugh gag last spring or winter?

Let's get some new materials guys.

No freeloading!

Patriot| 9.10.10 @ 1:28PM

Obama's already failed miserably, and we had nothing to do with t.

Oldefarte| 9.10.10 @ 12:57PM

Quin, I'll disagree with your thesis SORT OF. I do not hope that he fails as a president, as this will only give the anachists-liberals political ammunition to paint you amd me and all others proclaiming this to be racists, anti-Obamaists, domestic terrorists-pigs. I do however hope that he fails in November of 2012 in his bid to become re-elected as president. That is where I hopes that his failings as a president and as a human being are truely exposed to such an extent that each/every American taxpayer-voter will once and for all be able to WAKE UP and realize who/what he is [and has been for his entire lifetime]. I hope that the MSM will get their politically correct and moronic minds cleared enough to stop LEWINSKIFYING these radically liberal Democrats and to begin to DO THEIR JOBS by investigating and notifying the American people of THE TRUTH [instead of their pathetic partisaned brainwashing BS]. Maybe, if all of this were to come about, we could all exclaim, YES, VAGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!