President Obama's Greatest Challenge

As he takes office, President Obama will face a great many challenges and there will likely be no honeymoon period afforded to him. So what do I think will be his greatest challenge?

The Economy? No, the economy will right itself in spite of what President Obama may do to taxes, trade, tariffs, and unionization. The only thing that remains to be seen is how long the downturn lasts. He can help it along by lowering taxes or at the very least not raising them. But what John McCain said on the campaign trail was correct - the fundamentals of the economy are strong. It will bounce back.

Health care? Good luck beating the insurance lobby. They came out in full force in 1993 for the "Hillary Care" hearings and I have no doubt that they'll be back for round two.

Energy? No, it won't be his biggest challenge. We might continue subsidizing expensive alternative energy sources, but we're doing okay right now.

The war in Iraq or Afghanistan? Nope. I think as long as General Petraeus is in charge, who is an honorable and reputable man (despite what Moveon.org might think), President Obama will listen to him and heed his advice. By the way, the American people gave the military the highest job approval rating at 71%. Who ranked the lowest? That would be Congress at 12%.

Which leads me to what I think will be President Obama's greatest challenge - standing up to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid. Neither one of those two is likely to draw favorable leadership comparisons to either Tip O'Neill or Lyndon Johnson. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi seem to regard tuesday's election results as a mandate for pursuing an aggressive liberal policy according to an article in today's New York Times.

They are going to try and send President Obama one far left bill after another. If he signs them, I doubt he'll be re-elected in 2012. President Clinton's first two years in office, when he had a Democratic House and Senate, were very different from his last six years, when he had a Republican controlled House. He was drifting to the left in his first two years and then tacked back towards the center when the Republicans regained control.

The last six years of President Clinton's administration were far more successful than the first two - balanced budget, welfare reform, tax cuts - and we owe some thanks to Newt Gingrich for that. It's possible that if the Republicans had run someone younger and more dynamic than Bob Dole, they might have recaptured the White House in 1996. But the Dole / Kemp ticket, while comprised of honorable men, felt old and stodgy compared to Clinton/Gore.

Will President Obama resist the temptation to drift left with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid? Only time will tell.