What The AIG Backlash Means For The President
According to this Washington Post story, “President Obama’s apparent inability to block executive bonuses at insurance giant AIG has dealt a sharp blow to his young administration and is threatening to derail both public and congressional support for his ambitious political agenda.”
I’ve previously thought that the drop in Obama’s poll numbers in the past 2-3 weeks did not signify as much good news for conservatives as we would have liked. This article supports that view, in part. It appears that his slip — which is significant but not enormous — is based on hostility to bailouts for private interests, with some economic populism mixed in. I’ve not yet seen widespread opposition to the enormous “stimulus” that expands government interests. There is a growing tea party movement, yes, but I don’t think it is moving the polls yet.
Meanwhile, the economic populism of the anti-bonus furor is not likely to drive anyone to the GOP.
To the extent the AIG issue is a sign of hope for conservatives, it is that President Obama is facing the contradictions of his own to be too many things to too many people. He campaigned as a cipher, and for many, when you stared into the Obama you saw what you projected. Now that he actually has to govern, the inherent contradictions of his supporters’ differing expectations are becoming apparent.
