As I noted in earlier posts, I do think the Obama administration has reached a turning point and unless something almost earthshattering happens a)the “second term curse”is in place and b)the Republicans will have a chance of picking up both houses of Congress in 2014 because their base will be energized and Democrats as usual when it looks tough will be demoralized and stay home (then complain bitterly afterwards as the Republicans use every shred of power they can after winning). NBC’s First Read puts this new era perfectly into perspective:
*** The White House’s terrible, horrible Friday spills over: Everything that happened last Friday — the reporting on the revisions to the Benghazi talking points, the news that the IRS had targeted conservative groups, reporters pummeling White House Press Secretary Jay Carney at his briefing — represented the White House’s worst day since the first presidential debate. And it all spilled over to the Sunday shows and today’s news. As the Washington Post now reports, “At various points over the past two years, Internal Revenue Service officials singled out for scrutiny not only groups with ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in their names but also nonprofit groups that criticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution, according to documents in an audit conducted by the agency’s inspector general.” Indeed, the IRS story is bigger long-term problem for the Obama administration than perhaps it realized on Friday afternoon when its initial response lacked a real sense of outrage.
There is a pattern to the Obama administration that we’ve seen over the years. In a nutshell you can boil it down to this: it’s clear that the stellar response time and professionalism of the team that helped Obama win election is not carried over into the team that helps him govern, or perhaps even in Obama’s thoroughness as a manager. It’s either slipshod (Obama’s defenders insist) or intentional (Obama’s critics and that includes the conservative entertainment media and the conservative new media). But the bottom line is it’ll be part of his legacy. MORE:
*** IRS story packs a bigger political punch: One reason why is because Benghazi has already been litigated so much (at congressional hearings, at two presidential debates, during Susan Rice’s consideration for the secretary of state job). But Friday’s revelation that the IRS had targeted conservative-sounding names (and not liberal-sounding ones) in applications for tax-exempt status will trigger new congressional hearings and new questions for the president and his team. More significantly, the IRS news is a political gift to a Republican Party whose base was strained on immigration (remember that Heritage Foundation study?) and even on guns (remember the tough questions Sens. Kelly Ayotte and Jeff Flake were getting?). Now, you’re seeing a GOP base united by two things they absolutely dislike: President Obama and the Internal Revenue Service. The news also is a gift to Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, or any incumbent Republican in Washington hoping to avoid a tough primary in 2014 — they get to demagogue the heck out of this story and show they will stand up for the Tea Party.
It’s a big deal for a key reason. The Republicans will use this effectively to fundraise and get out the vote. As presiously noted, Democrats will start to feel demoralized and most likely the DNC will have a problem on its hands getting Democrats upset with Obame (no public option, believe it or not, remains sticking point). You KNOW GOPer will be turning out in droves in 2014. AND:
*** Slow ride, take it easy: For the Obama White House, if there’s one common theme to both the Benghazi and IRS stories, it’s how slowly it responded to them. It’s something that Sen. Dianne Feinstein alluded to on “Meet the Press” yesterday when NBC’s David Gregory asked her what she would have liked to see Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton do different after Benghazi. “Oh, to move faster. To say, ‘Yes, this was in fact a terrorist act.’ I mean, it was so evident.” When Gregory asked her why the administration dragged its heels, Feinstein responded, “I think this is a cautious administration. You see it in other respects.” That’s a kind interpretation. On Benghazi, the White House is essentially leading reporters to believe they were ultimately refereeing a bureaucratic turf fight between the CIA and State. But they also, when questioned, claim they’d do nothing differently other than — perhaps — delay giving a public accounting even further in the hours and days after the attack. When it comes to this Benghazi controversy, the questions for non-partisans (because partisans are searching only for what supports what they believe): Why did State push for the big change in the talking points? Was this about pushing back on the CIA, because it thought the agency was deflecting responsibility since the Benghazi outpost was more CIA than State? Was this about State doing CYA regarding CIA warnings about diplomatic security?
But you’d think the Obama administration, including someone as politically savvy as Hillary Clinton, could see how this would end.
Still, not surprising.
During a political campaign, team Obama responds swiftly. Once in office many of the political types are gone and Obama & Co. must really on their own devices..
The devices all have timing delays..
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.