America Adrift

America is adrift. The country as a whole has rejected the extreme left wing policies of the Obama administration. After a year of ignoring public opinion, it took Republican wins in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to get the attention of President Obama and his cohorts in Congress. The December deal between the unions and the administration relating to health care reform finally put an end to the public’s belief that this was a new era in politics that transcended special interests and partisanship. Barack turned out to be more of the same, but only worse.

Of course, these folks only partially got the message. They believe that this reversal of fortune was as a result of their failure to communicate with the public effectively. No, the public knew exactly what was going on, and the substance of what they were trying to do. It wasn’t the message. It was the policy that was rejected.

Now we have a disconnected administration giving pep talks to its party to pass legislation the public overwhelmingly doesn’t want. “Don’t pay any attention to them” is Obama’s message. Let’s try to back-door it. In the meantime, the administration seems to be floundering in foreign policy and on terrorism. On top of that, it is exhibiting a “what do we do next” kind of approach to the economy. And let's not forget its random attacks on the Supreme Court and various cable news channels. This isn't a pretty picture.

Over on the Republican side, notwithstanding its political successes in state elections and its resurgence in the polls for the fall elections, the GOP has failed to produce a single leader that can give voice to America’s frustration. It is simply kind of oozing around with all sorts of things bubbling up out of the lava of public discontent, everything but a leader. Included in the goo is the right wing tea party movement, with several different versions of it vying for dominance. Out of New England comes the resurrection of the Rockefeller Republicans as evidenced by Scott Brown, a fiscal conservative but social moderate. I’m not quite sure who…or what…is in the middle. The two possible leaders that personify both ends of this dichotomy are Palin on the right, and Romney in the middle. Now there's a pair.

So America is adrift in a very dangerous world with an administration so steeped in leftist ideology and its narcissistic view of itself, it has lost any realistic touch with the American electorate and is planning a continuation of the 2009 policies in 2010…which are toxic to Democratic candidates in the fall. The Republicans are trying to define and articulate what their political position will be in the fall election of 2010 and the big one in 2012, and no one seems ready to take on the role.

I have never experienced anything like this before, where the country is kind of muddling along with the body politic pushing policy in one direction or another, but completely rudderless. While it is an intellectual curiosity to watch this happen, these are dangerous times in unchartered waters.

We need a captain. If you find one, let me know.