Trouble

The Weekly Standard is at it again. It seems as if this bastion of American conservatism also happens to publish a plethora of writers with an innate ability to blow things ridiculously out of proportion, especially when it comes to the left. For a clear example, let's take a look at Fred Barnes' article, due to hit newsstands on the 29th, examining the troubles that lie ahead for President-elect Obama in the coming months.

The Little President That Couldn't?

In the article, Mr. Barnes outlines five obstacles to a smooth and successful early Obama presidency (I give him the benefit of the doubt here; in all honesty, it feels like Barnes is stretching for the last two points). To summarize: Obama promised transparency that he can't give; Obama's white house "czars" and his cabinet secretaries will inevitably clash; Congressional Democrats are not Obama's lapdogs; Congressional Democrats are much more eager to pursue the supposedly monolithic "liberal agenda" than Obama; and Obama's links to Illinois politics may damage him.

I mean no offense to Mr. Barnes or the Weekly Standard when I say that the last point is not even worth discussing. If certain elements within our free press will attack or question Mr. Obama's integrity, there is no way that I, a mere blogger, can dissuade them. However, I think that most of us can agree that the likelihood of a real and substantive link between Obama and the corruption of Governor Blagojevich is very unlikely and does not merit my time at this juncture.

Mr. Barnes does bring up a couple of worthwhile issues. With regards to the promise of transparency that Obama made prior to his election, it is certainly true that he won't be able to live up to it entirely. But there is absolutely no reason why, in this time of technological fluidity and expanding connection, the President of the United States couldn't devise and/or wield a system to make his less critical, less security-related decisions public and transparent. It is true that the story-hungry media will hound him regardless of his efforts but Mr. Barnes should acknowledge that this is the media's problem, and not necessarily Mr. Obama's.

In reference to the issue of conflict within the administration, it is my belief that Obama will be an intelligent and effective mediator, using his "czars" as Washington point men and assigning actual administrative, policy, and departmental management to the Cabinet secretaries. To say that there will be conflict between the two camps is to say that politics is a competitive process. Sure, alright, but this is nothing new. No go, Mr. Barnes; the system, especially under Obama's collegial style, should work out just fine.

Finally, with his wishful prediction that the Democratic Party will tear itself apart (again), Mr. Barnes reveals himself, at least in this case, as a partisan agent, rather than an objective journalist. Who is Mr. Barnes to say what the American people did and did not vote for? If they elected majorities in both Congressional chambers and sent a fairly liberal Democratic Senator to the White House, who is to say that a round of liberal initiatives aren't in order? Regardless, an independent legislature is a sign of a healthy democracy. You didn't see much dissension from the Republican Congress during the Bush years and we can all see where that got us. A moderate, intellectual pragmatist in the White House and a progressive Congress is a far cry from the failure that was a staunchly anti-intellectual Bush administration coupled with a reactionary and subservient Congress (read: 2001-2006 or disaster after disaster).

Even if all goes according to plan, the next eight years will be difficult; they will be straining to our social fabric and painful to our pockets. But face it, Mr. Barnes: you want to prove what cannot be proven, that Obama will do either harm or do nothing. Have faith, sir, that the American people who you, along with your fellow conservative "journalists", so vocally apotheosized in the hope of garnering votes for McCain, made the right decision for the next four years. With all due respect, who's the elitist now?

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I'm not sure how likely it is that something truly post-worthy will catch our attention before Christmas so, in case you don't hear from us, poLOLitics would like to wish all of our readers the best in this holiday season. May your children prosper, your fruit ripen, your pockets bulge...and all that jazz. Happy holidays!

Kevin A. Guerrero
Rod Blagojevich has the day off.