Over at the Third Way, a centrist web site, Bill Schneider writes that the herky-jerky pace of the Republican presidential campaign, which now has Herman Cain as the frontrunner, should not be a surprise. Especially when you add in the Tea Party influence.
But the disappointment with President Obama by mainstream Democrats, Schneider adds, is also in keeping with the Dems’ track record over the past 50 years. Democrats always yearn for a tough liberal. And Republicans always look for a nice, sunny conservatives. So far, the 2012 race offers neither.
Here is Schneider’s online column:
“’Oxymoron’ sounds like something Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have been calling each other. But it’s not an insult. It’s a contradiction in terms — like ‘working vacation.’ It may be the key to victory next year.
“For Democrats, oxymoron means a tough liberal. President Barack Obama toughened up his image with the drone assassination of Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, as well as the assault on Osama bin Laden. This gives Democrats hope that maybe, just maybe, Obama can pull through in 2012 — despite a deteriorating economy and sagging job ratings.
“For Republicans, oxymoron means a nice conservative. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, (who so many GOP stalwarts wanted to enter the presidential race ) Christie is a tough guy. Even a bully. But a nice guy? Not so much.
“The rap on Obama is that he’s too weak and accommodating. Not enough backbone. Every time he makes a deal with Republicans — like the deal to raise the debt ceiling this summer — his opponents take him to the cleaners.
“When the Republican Congress threatened to let the government go into default, Obama didn’t call their bluff. It was too risky. A Pew poll asks, ‘Does Barack Obama impress you as a strong leader?’ In February 2009, 77 percent said yes. In August, that number had dropped to 49 percent. “In the old days, Democrats had plenty of tough liberals, like Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. They were Big Government liberals. But they were all tough guys. Defy them, and you’d pay a price.
“FDR went after his enemies with gusto. ‘They are unanimous in their hate for me,’ FDR delighted, ‘and I welcome their hatred!’ In the middle of the Korean War, Truman fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur for insubordination. If you crossed Kennedy, his brother Bobby would come after you. Defy LBJ, and you’d wake up in the morning missing an important body part. Those old-fashioned Democrats were not to be trifled with.
“Since LBJ, however, Democrats have had a problem finding tough liberals. George McGovern? He was ‘1,000 percent’ behind his running mate — just before he dropped him from the ticket. Walter Mondale? He got pushed around by the special interests. Michael Dukakis? He got beaten up by ‘the wimp.’ “Voters elected Jimmy Carter after Watergate because the country was looking for a preacher. So we elected one and discovered he wasn’t tough enough for the job. “In the 1970s, Democrats longed for ‘another Kennedy’ to save them. But Ted Kennedy proved a flawed candidate. In the 1980s, many Democrats envisioned New York Gov. Mario Cuomo as their savior — a tough, compassionate, street-smart liberal. But Cuomo could never decide whether to enter the race.
“Bill Clinton proved he was tough in 1992. He faced down the press in the controversies over Gennifer Flowers and his draft record. He stood up to Jesse Jackson and the Democratic Party’s black constituency with the Sister Souljah (moment). Then he called Speaker Newt Gingrich’s bluff when the Republican Congress shut down the federal government. Clinton won two terms — the first Democrat to do so since Roosevelt. “So what can Democrats say to prove Obama’s a tough guy? Two things: bin Laden and al-Awlaki. Obama brushed aside all the hand-wringing over Pakistani sensibilities. He went in and took bin Laden out. … He dismissed the legal reservations about targeting a U.S. citizen. He sent drones over Yemen and took out al-Awlaki. “Will this be enough to save Obama’s re-election? That’s not clear. But you can be sure the Obama campaign will do all it can to keep public attention focused on those stories. “Republicans have a different problem. The stereotype of conservatives is mean and nasty. Think Jesse Helms, Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole, Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney; Rep. Joe Wilson shouting, “You lie!” at Obama during a 2009 speech to Congress. Members of the audience at a GOP debate booing a gay U.S. soldier.
“Ronald Reagan defied this stereotype. He was a sunny, nice conservative. He often said harsh, divisive things. But in the end, voters knew Reagan wouldn’t start a war or throw old people out in the snow. With House Speaker John Boehner or Perry — well, you can’t be sure.
“Fully half of all tea party Republicans describe themselves as ‘very angry,’ according to a CNN poll. All that anger is turning off moderate voters and splitting the GOP.
“Republican debates reflect the anger. When the moderator observed that, under Perry, Texas has executed 234 death-row inmates, the audience applauded. “Romney is the ruthless corporate raider. The Romney campaign is pummeling Perry with a constant barrage of attacks like ‘Perry’s problem with the truth.’
“Perry is the mean Texas hombre. Remember George W. Bush’s ‘compassionate conservatism?’ Perry dismisses it in his book, “Fed Up!” as ‘sending the wrong signal’ that conservatism was ‘flawed and had to be rebranded.’
“…We’re going to see a lot of candidates try to turn themselves into oxymorons next year. Because tough liberals and nice conservatives win.”
