Here are seven reasons to be skeptical of Obama’s chances — and the Washington establishment he now leads:
1. The genius fallacy … Everyone seems to agree Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner are smart, vastly qualified to manage and repair the economy. Everyone was saying the exact same things about the two economic geniuses of the 1990s: Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan. …
2. The herd instinct … Some of Washington’s biggest blunders occur when the government moves to do big things with big support. Bush won the much-regretted Iraq war resolution of October 2002 with strong Democratic backing. The current economic crisis produces similar pressure to get on board the train — never mind for sure where it’s going. …
3. We are broke. …
4. Words, words, words … Clinton often waved away speech drafts bloated with lofty language by saying: ‘Words, words, words.’ … [Obama] is almost certain to face many tests, probably imminently, in which the test will be Obama’s ability to act quickly and shrewdly — and not merely describe his actions smoothly or impress people with nuance. …
5. He rarely challenges the home team. … Has Obama ever delivered a ‘Sister Souljah speech’? Ever stood up to organized labor in the way that Clinton did in passing North American Free Trade Agreement? …
6. Everyone is winging it. … People who used to bemoan deficits want to spend like crazy. Improvisation is the only proper response. But the chances that improvisation will take the country to exactly the right destination — without some serious wrong turns along the way — seem very slight.
7. The watchdogs are dozing. The big media companies that once invested in serious accountability journalism are shells of their former selves. … The end result: There are few reporters in this country doing the kind of investigative reporting that hold government officials’ feet to the fire.”
Wouldn't you think they might have mentioned some of these quite reasonable doubts prior to the election?
