Americans are Losing Trust in President Obama

Guest Editorial - LDN September 10, 2009

As I write this column President Obama is probably working on the finishing touches of his health care speech he is going to present to a joint session of Congress. This speech is huge. Presidents seldom utilize this privilege. It is usually reserved for the State of the Union and national emergencies. Rarely is it utilized for a pure political speech. The importance of this speech cannot be underestimated. This speech may be the make or break moment of his young presidency.

However, the interesting thing is there seems to be more concern about the president’s message to the school children. While the president’s very presidency is on the line before Congress, many people have a more visceral reaction towards the president giving a message to school children. Something is wrong with this but it should not be ignored.

If I was a political operative in the White House I would be just as concerned about the school message angst as I would the general maliaise associated with the Presidents big speech before Congress. I think the unease associated with the school message is the bigger issue. I would argue that it shows that President Obama is losing the trust of the American people.

Of course the President should be able to address school children. The very notion that it is improper for our President to give a pep talk to our children is on the surface absurd. Presidents Reagan and Bush gave messages. Under normal circumstances, this president and every president should give a pep talk to students. Why the concern this time?

These are not normal times. The angst is real and politically very telling. Just look at the huge Tea party held on the square last weekend. It is no small feat to get over 2,000 people to show up on the square to listen to political speeches. Their concerns are real and genuine.

I think it boils down to the President slowly but surely losing the trust of the American people. The polls show it every week. His popularity has fallen lower faster than any other modern president – other than Gerald Ford after pardoning Nixon. It is as American as apple pie for citizens to criticize our politicians. However when this generic disrespect boils over and becomes a lack of trust or contempt, it reaches a new level.

Let’s compare President Reagan and President Obama. Both set out to change America. Both inherited their roles under terrible circumstances: Reagan following the Carter malaise and Obama in the middle of a Wall Street meltdown. From there, the similarities stop.

Reagan had a clear vision and a set of principles. He publically stated them for decades, ran on them and then tried to govern by them. You may remember some of his principles.
• America is a shining city upon a hill
• Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.
• Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. (sounds a lot tike GM doesn’t it)
• Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them (think healthcare).

At the very core you knew where President Reagan stood, whether you agreed with him or not. I think it can be summed up in two ways. America is special among the nations and more government is the source of the problem rather than the answer to the problem. The key to Reagan’s success was he had a core set of vision. He communicated these values clearly to the electorate. For that, the world respected him.

President Obama’s vision is much less clear as evidenced by some of his quotes:
• Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
• I think when you spread the wealth around its good for everybody.
• I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

During the election he ran away from his liberal voting record as a senator and tried to rebrand himself as a centrist. He gave eloquent speeches extolling change but he never articulated his own specific vision. Because of this the electorate is piecing his political philosophy together, one action at a time. From a huge pork riddle stimulus package out-sourced to Congress, to a cap and trade bill passed with little public discussion, to a healthcare bill being forced on Americans, the people are beginning to realize that his actions speak louder than his words. In short, he believes that more government is the solution and that America itself is not the shining city on a hill.

It is becoming clear that President Obama’s governing philosophy is different than the one he ran on and the one he gives so many speeches on. He continues to speak as a centrist and govern as a leftist. That dichotomy is eroding his trust with the people. It is a drip (make that a trillion drips) by drip process and people are losing trust. Trust is the hardest thing to gain and the easiest to lose. Trust goes beyond shear logic and emanates from the heart.

This explains why parents are concerned about the speech to students. If you don’t trust someone, primal instincts take over. Your instincts throw pure reason out and you do all you can to protect your child. You would not let an untrustworthy person near your child. That explains the concern over a pep talk to school children. That is why I would be concerned if I were in the White House.

Kirk can be reached at jkirkhancock@yahoo.com