Hope is better than Change

The era of the Big O is over, not Oprah but Obama. I am simply amazed that Barack Obama has messed up so fast. In the 2008 general election, Obama and the Democratic Party was unbeatable with the remnants of the GOP being split into factions led by Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. In less than two years, Obama and the Democratic Party are vulnerable to the point that party primary elections are on the verge of knocking out career Senators like Arlen Specter (D-Pa).

What happened to the Big O? Simple, he forgot a very important rule of politics: people do not care about Change if they do not have money in their pocket. Bill Clinton survived several government shutdowns, being impeached, and Monica Lewinsky because he kept the economy moving and people had jobs to put money in the pocket. In other words, Clinton’s focus on Hope was better than Obama’s current fad of Change.

Instead of focusing on jobs (Duh), Obama chose to waste his political capital on health care and bailing out Wall Street. There is a song that I love by “The Georgia Satellites” and the first line of lyrics is: “I got some change in my pocket goin’ jingalingaling.”

With Obama’s lack of focus on job growth and recovery, the lyrics could read: “Obama’s Change in my pocket is only going jingalingaling.”

The cost of his lack of focus has already cost him politically. Today, it may cost him a valuable moderate ally in Specter. In November, the only question on the table is whether the ultimate cost will be the loss of both Houses of Congress.