I’ll give him credit for suspending judgment and decrying the overwrought media hype about Obama’s supposed successes and failures. But this ought to be the starting point of an examination, not buried under the lede:Stepping back a bit, I do see a metapattern that extends over the 40 years since Richard Nixon’s Southern strategy began the drift toward more ideological political parties: Democrats have tough first years in the presidency. Of the past seven Presidents, the two Bushes rank at the top in popularity after one year, while Obama and Bill Clinton rank at the bottom, with Jimmy Carter close by. There is a reason for that. Democrats come to office eager to govern the heck out of the country. They take on impossible issues, like budget-balancing and health care reform. They run into roadblocks — from their own unruly ranks as well as from Republicans. They get lost in the details.
Carter was attacked by direct mail campaigns that spread Teh Wacky™ — I remember the neighbors showing me John Bircher materials they got in the mail; I was eight. Clinton was attacked by talk radio, direct mail, and the early wingnutosphere. Now Obama faces a highly-organized effort to undermine his legitimacy and annul his mandate using the full power of the internet, a whole cable channel, and a compliant media stovepipe.
Maybe that’s worth talking about?
Nah. Klein’s got opinions to sell.
