"For the time being, U.S. voters have
demonstrated common sense and decided that the more government intervention, so
much the worse it is for them. Unfortunately in Europe, “Big Government” still
prevails. Obama would feel quite at home here."
The
party of the U.S. president, who has been in office for two years, suffered a
painful defeat in the latest Congress elections.
Democrats
lost their majority in the House of Representatives and their candidates lost
to Republicans in dozens of electoral districts, which doesn't happen often in
American politics.
It
happened in 1994, halfway through Bill Clinton's first term. At the time, Republicans
retook the House Representative from their rivals for the first time in 40
years. In 1982, on the other hand, it was Ronald Reagan's turn to taste the
bitterness of a similar defeat. It was then the Democrats who celebrated a
triumph, having increased their majority by 27 seats.
So
what does last Tuesday's defeat of the Democratic Party mean to Barack Obama's
political future? If history repeats itself, Obama should have no trouble
winning the 2012 presidential election. Reagan did it in 1984, crushing Walter
Mondale by winning 49 out of 50 states. And Bill Clinton repeated that success
in 1996, when Bob Dole didn't have a chance.
So Obama still has a hope.
But only a hope, since the first Black U.S. president fell victim to his own public
relations mastery, which elevated him to the pinnacle of power. Neither Reagan
nor Clinton had aroused such great expectations in Americans, and yet they still
achieved a lot during their two terms. Reagan restored to American optimism and
led them to triumph over the evil empire. Clinton, between clandestine meetings
with his favorite intern, was an effective manager of an economic boom.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Obama promised Americans both
hope and change, and lots of other miracles too. He was convinced that pushing through
historic health reform legislation through Congress would earn him the undying
gratitude of his fellow citizens. And he tried to bury all the day-to-day
problems of ordinary citizens under billions of speedily printed dollars.
It's
too early to assess whether Obama's social-democratic experiment will succeed
in the United States. For the time being, U.S. voters have demonstrated common
sense and decided that the more government intervention, so much the worse it
is for them. Unfortunately in Europe, “Big Government” still prevails. Obama
would feel quite at home here.
