Barack Obama's Anniversary

It seems much longer, but it has only been a little over 12 months since Barack obama became the President of the United States. For those who oppose the radical shift in the way our country is governed, this administration has been frightening to watch. President Obama has pursued a fast track for socializing the greatest health care system in the world, has used government subsidies to control major parts of the US economy (even firing CEOs), has added to the deficit at levels equaling our entire national debt just a couple of decades ago, and has created international instability due to a foreign policy based on indecision.

In recent months, the bad dream suffered by Obama's critics has become the President's nightmare as well. There are numerous examples:

In spite of the speed that the Democrats have applied in its pursuit of "health care reform," White House Adviser David Axelrod has declared that the Scott Brown win in Massachusetts was a result of "going too slow." Reality check: Massachusetts has been under this type of care when it passed its own bill under Romney for the past five years and the people want less and not more of that type of medicine.

The governor's race in New Jersey -- a solidly blue state -- has fallen into the hands of the GOP.
Virginia's governor has been "purple" for years and is open season to either party, but is now in the GOP's hands.

Two leaders of the Democratic party in the Senate -- Dorgan of North Dakota and Dodd of Connecticut -- have decided to retire rather than face a serious GOP challenge. One Democratic Congressman, Parker Griffith of Alabama, has actually switched parties.

The mainstream media does not seem to get it. Esquire magazine wrote an article about Obama that read like a teen magazine of its favorite celebrity. In the January issue there is an article entitled "Papa in Chief," in which the President's frequent indecisions are praised as deliberateness while many Americans see it as nothing short of dangerous. The article essentially sees Obama as a very paternal character indeed. Meanwhile, US deaths in Afghanistan doubled in 2009 as the President spent most of the year determining what -- if anything -- he would do about the insurgents' growing violence. I doubt our troops would consider this the "thoughtfulness" of a fatherly figure.

This administration spent much of 2009 scrambling in many different directions in an effort to get some of its sweeping legislation passed. As a result, many Americans saw the President's agenda as more political than practical and more about ideology than people. With Senators retiring, and seats changing parties even before the off-year election takes place, Obama is in serious trouble. Politically, this president is looking more and more like a "dead man walking."

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.