Is President Obama having a “Katrina moment” with the trio of scandals rocking his administration — Benghazi, IRS snooping and the Associated Press wiretaps? I knew it was a matter of time before someone invoked “Katrina moment” as a way of explaining away the drama that continues to dominate the news cycle. Personally, I believe Eric Holder should be put out to pasture, given his testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday where he gave different variations to “I don’t know.” I thought the buck stopped with him, being the U.S. Attorney General, but maybe I’m wrong. Dana Milbank characterized his performance as an abdication, mocking him with his responses, “I don’t know. I don’t know. I would not want to reveal what I know. I don’t know why that didn’t happen. I know nothing, so I’m not in a position really to answer.”
Todd Eberly: “What happened to Bush between Election Day 2004 and the Democratic victories in the 2006 election is a cautionary tale that the Obama Administration would do well to consider… Bush had presented himself as a competent manager and a reliable leader – a stark contrast to Kerry. That image collapsed in spectacular fashion in latter half of 2005.”
“Like Bush, Obama was reelected by the same 51% bare majority. Obama’s narrow popular vote victory was bolstered by a more substantial Electoral College victory. Like Bush, Obama was rejected by 49% of the electorate and exit polls showed a majority of voters favored full or partial repeal of the President’s signature legislative accomplishment – health care reform. Much like the Bush 2004 strategy, the Obama campaign spent millions defining Mitt Romney as an unfit leader. Obama was portrayed as the reliable and competent manager who understood there was a positive role for government to play in improving people’s lives. If Obama is not careful, that image will collapse in spectacular fashion.”
The onset of woes threatens to consume President Obama’s policy aspirations and possibly his legacy. It’s been a rough week for the Obama White House and the Republicans, who continue to cry wolf, are only emboldened to keep this going, while the country continues to grapple with the effects of the sequester, among other issues. It is quite clear to me that the Republicans are manufacturing and spinning these ‘scandals’ any way they can to deflect from the fact they have nothing to move this country forward. Instead, dividing us as a country fits right into their narrative. On its face, this isn’t a “Katrina moment” but who knows how this will turn out. We lost four lives in Benghazi, not to minimize the importance of their lives, but that’s compared to the nearly 2,000 who died as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Nobody died as a result of the AP phone records seizure and the IRS snooping.
On a personal note, since we are talking ‘scandal,’ I guess I will tune in to watch a real scandal unfold as the season finale for ABC’s hit show “Scandal” airs tonight.
This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.