Obama speaks boldly but carries a small stick

Rather than change his approach in the face of the clearest political signals sent to a president in 16 years, Obama doubled down on his big, complicated agenda.

Liberals, moderates and conservatives are all worried, some about his priorities, others about his ability to deliver.

But the Obamanauts cheered when the president dished out smack talk to Republicans and even to justices of the Supreme Court during his State of the Union speech.

Obamanauts swooned when he visited congressional GOPers on their annual retreat and told them that they were really the ones in trouble, no matter what the polls say.

It’s the Obama way to deal with adversity: When you get into a box, give a speech in which you attack your critics and admit to some self-serving mistakes. (“I gave people too much credit,” etc.) But the most important thing is to “stay cool,” meaning that you stick to your plan and wait for things to turn in your favor.

The approach won Obama the presidency after a long-shot start in the primaries and a September stall in the general election.

By admitting no real mistakes and sticking to his strategy, Obama stayed in position to capitalize on his opponents’ stumbles (Bill Clinton playing the race card in South Carolina) or a shift in the political climate (the implosion of world markets in the fall of 2008).

After a very difficult few months, the president is now trying to get back to that campaign style — rhetorical audacity coupled with a stolid adherence to his plan.

By the time Obama went to the Duke-Georgetown basketball game Saturday, you could tell he and his posse were feeling cool again — campaign cool. Vice President Biden even popped the collar on his blazer — very Milanese, by way of Wilmington.

The good vibes will not last.

Surveys tell us that less than 20 percent of voters are still Obamaniacs — they like him personally, approve of his policies and believe he is implementing his agenda effectively. In a recent CBS poll, 19 percent of voters said that he had kept most or all of his campaign promises — an assessment that not even the president would honestly make. These are disciples, not just supporters.

Who are they?

Some are liberals who staked it all on Obama and can’t admit that that they were irrationally exuberant. Others are African-Americans who feel protective of their barrier-breaking president.

And for the hard-core Obamaphiles, it was great fun to see Obama rediscover his strut just as he did when Hillary Clinton or John McCain landed blows against him in 2008.

But at a time when voters think Obama is in over his head, the president is letting a tremendous opportunity slip through his fingers because he is unable to act boldly.

Most politicians spend their whole careers looking for a message as clear as the one Obama has been getting from the American people: quality, not quantity.

Rather than seeking a government that is big, transformational and expensive, Americans are looking for Washington to pursue goals that are modest, practical and thrifty.

Obama may be on the receiving end of the electorate’s frustrations, but at least he knows where it stands. And that is a real opportunity for a skillful politician — a time when a bold move can yield huge gains.

Even if Obama couldn’t bear the thought of adopting a more moderate agenda, he could have told Americans how he plans to accomplish any of the huge initiatives he nonchalantly ticks off in his speeches. Voters might look anew at a president who now seems to be more talk than action.

It might not do much for the 19 percent who are thrilling to every finger stabbing hand gesture and scoffing response to Republican questions, but it would have bought him the good will he needs to help his party in November.

And as we watch moderate Democrats force the president to back down on importing terrorist trials and cramming through a health plan, we see that many in his party plan to run away from, not with, Obama this year.

That flight will only intensify unless Obama starts backing up his audacious promises with bold plans of action.

Chris Stirewalt is the political editor of The Washington Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected].