Obama's American enemies

Michael Goodwin:

He hasn't called anyone an "evildoer" or denounced an "axis of evil." But make no mistake: President Obama is putting together an enemies list.

Strangely, though, those on it are not terrorists or foreign dictators. They are mostly Americans lucky enough to have succeeded through capitalism and democracy.

In the President's words, they are guilty of being "special interests" and "lobbyists." The Bush-era tax cuts were merely "an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy" and he will bring fairness by raising taxes on "the wealthiest 2% of Americans."

His barbs flow almost daily, faulting corporate leaders for "greed" and shirking "a sense of responsibility." And sometimes he suggests the problem is criminal, as when he defended his plan for an expanded government push into health insurance as necessary "to keep the private sector honest."

Less than half-way through what should be a 100-day honeymoon, the Obama administration is on a war footing. Make that a class-war footing.

Sometimes the targets are critics, including two TV commentators singled out by press secretary Robert Gibbs for faulting the President's bailout plans.

Sometimes the targets are Republicans, like conservative talker Rush Limbaugh, the focus of a plan led by chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to divide the GOP and score points with the Democratic base.

But the tone of the President's own attacks on industry and his spending and tax policies are increasingly worrying Wall Street and much of the business world. With the stock market reaching lows not seen in more than a decade, including a 20% drop since Inauguration Day, headlines like "Obama's bear market" are suddenly routine.

The President dismisses the growing perception he is adding to the economic pain. Asked about the markets, Obama waved them off as like a "tracking poll in politics" that "bobs up and down day to day."

It was a telling moment, for the markets on his watch have moved almost exclusively down. And the 55 million households that hold mutual funds are watching their savings and retirements vanish in great gobs.

Most are decidedly middle class, making them collateral damage of this war.

...

First he demonizes them, then he taxes them.

And always, he makes liberal use of bogeymen. On Friday, as he stood before a class of 25 police cadets in Columbus, Ohio, hired with federal stimulus money, the President delivered a standard attack line against unnamed dissenters. "They opposed the very notion that government has a role in ending the cycle of job loss at the heart of this recession," he said.

Actually, few if any critics advocated doing nothing. But never mind. Being President means you don't have to let the facts get in the way of a plan to divide and conquer.

I noticed the same thing in his speech. The rhetorical use of a straw man argument to go after critics while ignoring their criticism or recasting it as something it is not. He has been largely getting away with this int he news coverage, but more commentators like Goodwin are noticing the misleading device. A President cannot get away this kind of dishonesty indefinitely.

Also see this from Don Surber via Larwyn.