Rich Zeoli: Dr. Freud, Please Come To The Oval Office.
3/11/12 - by Rich Zeoli
Is Obama Subconsciously Sabotaging his Reelection?
I think the conversation in President Obama's subconscious mind went something like this: "The economy seems to be improving. We got Bin Laden. The Republicans are literally killing each other in their primary. My opponent is going to leave Tampa bloodied and bruised. I'll either have to run against the out of touch rich guy, angry Newt, or the guy who wants women barefoot in the kitchen again. This is too easy. I gotta shake things up a little. But how? I know, I'll pick a massive fight with the Catholic Church and order them to pay for contraception. Yes! That will make this process much, much more difficult."
Dr. Freud, paging Dr. Freud, please come to the Oval Office. The big guy clearly wasn't kidding when he said he hates the DC social scene. Clearly he wants to go back to Hawaii. Why else would he wage this battle months before his reelection? Why not wait until he's reelected? Or loses reelection and do it as a parting gift on his way back to Maui?
I am usually pretty critical of how Obama governs, but I've always said that when it comes to his ability to pick advisors and campaign, he's top notch. This mandate came in direct conflict with some of his key advisors including his practicing Catholic Veep Joe Biden. The sad truth is that Obama does philosophically believe the government knows best for you and nothing, especially not a 230 year old out dated constitution is going to stand in his way in telling religious organizations what to do.
Amazingly to me, all people wanted to talk about this election was, as James Carville so famously put it, "the economy stupid." And yet, here we are talking about cultural issues. Only this time around, it wasn't the Republicans who picked the fight. It was Obama. Literally taking a stick and stabbing it in the eye of every Catholic in the county.
The real danger for the Obama Administration is not that Catholic voters will run in droves to vote him out of office over contraception, or that pro-lifers will become even more committed to throwing him out. No, the real danger is that independent minded voters will realize just how liberal he really is. Guys like me can rail against his liberalism all day long on the radio but for many Americans, they remain skeptical. They like the President personally. His approval ratings, while low for his job performance, are relatively high for like-ability. And many Americans can't get their arms around the idea that he is as liberal as I say he is.
He is though, and now they are beginning to realize it. On its own, the contraception issue doesn't matter much to swing voters. Combined with stagnant job numbers, a health care overhaul that's turning out to be a very expensive proposition, and a housing market that continues to sink, and many independent minded voters might just start to say "maybe he is as liberal as all the talking heads say he is." In other words, the image of Obama as a very liberal President starts to take center stage and Americans don't like voting for liberals especially when the economy isn't great (see Carter, 1980.)
When I was a kid going through confirmation, my Priest, Father Dan, told me that he votes Democratic because they seem to care more for the poor. I didn't argue with him, not because I agreed with him, but because I was scared he wouldn't confirm me. But now, I can see Father Dan holding his nose and voting Republican out of fear that if Obama is willing to go this far when he's up for reelection, how far will he go when he is a lame duck President in his second term. I can also see my middle class Catholic cousin Denise who normally would never vote Republican saying the same thing. And I can see my retired bus driving Uncle voting for Republican this time around not out of love, but out of fear.
That's bad news for President and good news for the Republicans. Well, it's actually also good news for Obama's subconscious which is clearly screaming "get me out of here already!"
