Barone: Bush Helps Obama

Political guru Michael Barone, writing for the Washington Examiner, has a very interesting take on the current political dynamic. His basic point is that voters aren't so much enthused about Obama's program as they were turned off by Bush's failures. It is an interesting argument, he summarizes the failure of what he calls Narrative A, a supposed enthusiasm for big government solutions:

The unions' anti-secret-ballot bill is going nowhere, and neither, it seems, is carbon emissions legislation. The stimulus package is widely regarded as a failure and the Democrats' various health care bills are not winning majorities in polls. If anything, Americans are more leery of big government than they were a few years ago.

So, how did Obama get to where he is today, elected but with little public support? Barone calls this Narrative B:

In this narrative, Democrats' big congressional majorities owe more to perceived Republican incompetence and to the $400 million that labor unions poured into Democratic campaigns than to any change in fundamental attitudes toward the balance between markets and government.

IMHO the former Republican Congress was incompetent; it spent money like a teenager with a new credit card. I am less willing to view Bush's slow response to Hurricane Katrina as a failure. If a city sits below sea level near the ocean, I believe it is that city's responsibility to protect its people and property against flooding. For it to rely on the Federal government as "first responder" is the equivalent of a healthy adult living on welfare instead of working.

The entire article is worth your time.