Barack Obama’s former mentor criticises ‘complacent Administration’

[cal04]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7010392.ece

President Obama’s self-confidence borders on complacency. He is ill served by senior staff, especially his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. He does not appear to be learning on the job as he did when campaigning for the White House. His Administration is too deferential to Congress, too reliant on the President’s personal charm, and as a result is regarded by its enemies as weak and ineffectual.

As Mr Obama prepared to release his $3.8 trillion (£2.4 trillion) budget today, this assessment of his first year in office came not from one of his established critics on the Right, but from one of his most respected mentors — his former professor at Harvard Law School, Chris Edley.

“What I fear is that having made history, having won a Nobel prize, having been celebrated around the world, a measure of complacency may have set in,” Professor Edley told The Times. “I don’t mean that the effort is not there, but that the discipline of self-criticism has perhaps faded.”

(snip)
He reserved the harshest criticism for Mr Emanuel, the second-most powerful figure in the White House, who has been pilloried by liberals for appearing to undermine Mr Obama’s healthcare reforms since the loss of a crucial Senate seat to the Republicans.

“You’re not going to reinvent Barack into somebody who delights in pummelling a policy opponent, so his staff need to do that for him. And as far as one can tell from the outside, that is precisely what Rahm Emanuel has failed to do,” he said.

Referring to the prospect of Democratic losses in the mid-term elections, as a result of opposition among independent voters to the stimulus and healthcare Bills, Professor Edley added: “It’s almost as if Rahm Emanuel cares more about the re-election prospects of his friends on (Capitol) Hill than he does about scoring policy victories that reflect Obama’s values.”

[dkf]

1. Dump Rahm now.

When is he running for mayor? It won't be soon enough.

[1776Forever]

5. Right on!

:applause:

[yurbud]

13. he should be running from a mob with torches and pitchforks for fucking up a historic supermajority

[peacetalksforall]

2. Excellent find. I disagree with this paragraph.

“You’re not going to reinvent Barack into somebody who delights in pummelling a policy opponent, so his staff need to do that for him. And as far as one can tell from the outside, that is precisely what Rahm Emanuel has failed to do,” he said."

Policy opponents are in two parties. Emanuel can't pummel his own DLC members because he is working for them and whether or not all the Blue Dogs are formal DLC members, they act and think like DLC members.

If the policy opponent is intended to be Repuboicans, Emanual can't pummel them because RE is a Republican by ideology and favoritism to corporations.

Obama has to to the pummeling. He needs to pummel his DLC staff. He needs to kick them out. He needs fresh neutral and brilliant Democrats on his staff. And he need some brilliant people females taking care of the banks and markets. But he got his Bernanke instead.

[DURHAM D]

6. The only place in the political world where the DLC

carries any political cache is here at DU. It is so last century.

Obama is to the right of Rahm - you just can't admit it.

[dkf]

7. His point is Obama may be good at it but he doesn't revel in it.

I'd say edley is right.

[xchrom]

3. Recommend

[bleever]

4. I believe he's a guy who makes it his job to learn on the job.

I think he's learning this now.

[StevieM]

8. I'm pretty happy with Obama right now and don't find him to be "complacent." He wasn't my first

choice for president (in the primaries that is), but all things considered I think he's doing a really good job and deserves credit for success in a number of different areas.

Progress doesn't come easy....but I think Obama and his team are doing the best they can to deliver.

Steve

[emilyg]

9. k

[democracy1st]

10. K & R

[TexasObserver]

11. Recommend

[Vidar]

12. K&R.