Ouch.
The Story: (H/T Breitbart.com)
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama won the presidency by exploiting a political environment that devoured George W. Bush in a second term plagued by sinking credibility, failed legislative battles, fractured world relations and revolts inside his own party.
Mr. Obama is now threatened by a similar toxic mix. The disastrous rollout of his health care law not only threatens the rest of his agenda but also raises questions about his competence in the same way that the Bush administration’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina undermined any semblance of Republican efficiency.
But unlike Mr. Bush, who faced confrontational but occasionally cooperative Democrats, Mr. Obama has a Republican opposition that has refused to open the door to any legislative fixes to his health care law and has blocked him at virtually every other turn.
A contrite-sounding Mr. Obama repeatedly blamed himself on Thursday for the failed health care rollout, which he acknowledged had thrust difficult burdens on his political allies and had deeply undermined Americans’ trust in him.
“It’s legitimate for them to expect me to have to win back some credibility on this health care law in particular and on a whole range of these issues in general,” Mr. Obama said.
But earning back the confidence of Americans, as he pledged to do, will require Mr. Obama to right more than just the health care program. At home, his immigration overhaul is headed for indefinite delay, even as new budget and debt fights loom. And abroad, N.S.A. spying revelations have dragged down the country’s standing, even as negotiations over Iran’s nuclear arsenal have set off bipartisan criticism.
And for the first time in his presidency, surveys suggest that his reserve of good will among the public is running dry. Two polls in recent weeks have reported that a majority of Americans no longer trust the president or believe that he is being honest with them.
“When you start losing the trust and confidence, not only of Congress, but the American people, that makes it even more difficult,” said Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia. “You can work yourself out. But you have to be sincere, and you have to be honest.”
via Obama’s Flawed Health Law Rollout Draws Parallels to Bush’s Troubles – NYTimes.com.
That is seriously going to leave a mark. 😯 But, we on the right can simply say, “we told you so!” (over and over and over.)