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The Spectacle Blog
I am just about to finish up Bob Woodward’s The Price of Politics. It is his account of the 2011 debt ceiling negotiations.
The more I read, the more I am depressed.
Although Woodward tries to portray President Obama in the most positive light possible, the fact is that he played a passive role in the negotiations and left most of the heavy lifting to Joe Biden. To the extent Obama was involved, his preening, petulant and prickly disposition rubbed Congressional officials and their staff from both parties the wrong way.
Don’t get me wrong. There is plenty of blame to go around. But it may be that its beyond the actors in question. There is also way too much government and even getting rid of a small fraction of it invites resistance sufficient for politicians to back off without even trying.
As I was reading the book, I kept asking myself how Mitt Romney would have handled this situation. Now we will never know. All we do know is that we have the same cast of characters and I don’t expect them to produce a meaningful resolution on Arbor Day much less reduce the deficit.
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More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/11/07/why-reading-bob-woodward-depre
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Bob Grant| 11.7.12 @ 1:41PM
Aaron:
I've read excerpts from the book and listened to Mr. Woodward in various interviews and my takeaway were the not-too-subtle hints that obama was in over his head and doesn't possess the skills required to be an effective leader, much less president.
Of course he can't come out and say it because of the Liberal World in which he operates but his "meta-messaging" was there for anyone willing to listen.
It's a moot point now.
R. Dittmar| 11.7.12 @ 1:42PM
"I kept asking myself how Mitt Romney would have handled this situation."
Is there any really any doubt about how Romney would have handled this situation? He would have caved in a heartbeat and agreed to end the Bush tax cuts, institute a new VAT, grant amnesty to illegals and support a gay marraige amendment.
Mike W| 11.7.12 @ 1:47PM
Romney lost because of the "browning" of America. Admit it. It's the truth.
It started in with Immigration Act of 1965 and then Reagan sealed our fate with the 1986 amnesty. I voted for the man but he probably did more damage than any Democrat when he approved that amnesty.
That demographic and their children can vote.
Now they will vote in another amnesty and those new immigrants will vote and this country is done.
CJW| 11.7.12 @ 3:49PM
Aaron
If you want to get really depressed, read Woodward's "Obama Wars" about how uninformed, unprepared, and uninterested O was about Afghan and Iraq. On a flight to LA he spent minutes on the war briefings, and hours on the jokes for Lenno and the Hollywood parties.
buckeyeman| 11.8.12 @ 9:19AM
I saw Woodward on Hannity last night. I had the feeling that he was squirming in his chair because he knows his Marxist dreamboat is killing us. Even more, I wonder if he's beginning to feel that his whole dreamy Marxist philosophy is unravelling the country that made Mr. Woodward richa and famous.
Dai Alanye | 11.8.12 @ 10:37AM
It's a plain fact that Obama usually votes "present." He doesn't like politics nor the process of compromise.