Bush-bashing is being used as a smokescreen to distract the public from Mr. Obama's ineffective policies. It serves as a mask to cover up the administration's central problem: incompetence. Mr. Obama certainly made the opposite assertions during the 2008 campaign. The then-candidate said he was inheriting a spiraling economy and two wars but nonetheless could promise to bring a new era of "hope," "change" and "economic renewal." Moreover, his seminal pledge was to transcend America's bitter political divisions and become a "post-partisan" president who would unify all voters.
By contrast, Mr. Obama is the most radical president in U.S. history, whose socialist policies are fracturing the country along ideological, racial and class lines. He is a dogmatic divider. The angry town-hall meetings, the "tea party" protests and his dwindling poll numbers are not because of Mr. Bush. Rather, they are the direct result of Mr. Obama's big-government liberalism.
The president predicted that the $787 billion fiscal stimulus would save or create more than 3 million jobs. He stressed that it would keep the unemployment rate from surpassing 8 percent; it is now at 9.8 percent - and climbing. His failed stimulus package is his responsibility, not that of his predecessor.
Even liberals are commenting on the president not taking adequate responsibility for his own actions. And while the public is still apt to give him the benefit of the doubt and blame Bush for his troubles, that situation is not going to last forever.
One of the signs of a good leader is taking responsibility for both their failures and successes. But this president has spent so much time bad mouthing his predecessor and whining about how bad things are that he has failed to address what citizens think is his most important priority; jobs. Few people care that all those trillions in fake money being poured into the economy resulted in 3.5% growth in the last quarter. They look around their hometowns and see no difference in the job picture. They anticipate no improvement any time soon.
Distracting people by trashing Bush won't work much longer. Inevitably, the circle will close and Obama will be confronted with the failure of his policies. At that point, he can either choose to work to solve our employment crisis or find another target to blame for his own incompetence.
Judging by what we've seen so far, the latter possibility seems more likely.
