Obama and the Chicago Cubs

It seems to me, that Obama is a lot like the Chicago Cubs baseball team. All too often the Cubs get a good start to a season and the fans start to think that the old cursed saying -- "Wait 'til next year" -- will finally be left behind. But, in the end, the Cubs always manage to lose going into the fall.

At the beginning of this year, Obama too was hot. As a new President, 70% of the population was rooting for him to do well. Now, going into this fall, Obama has suffered some serious defeats. His poll numbers have plummeted steadily from the time he took office. Depending on which poll you look at, Obama is either in a historical first place or third place when it comes to the fastest plunge in a Presidential approval rating.

Certainly, ObamaCare is floundering and needs to be rushed to the emergency room. The Stimulus Package is looking like a non-starter with the unemployment rate close to 10%. Despite a program to stop foreclosures the rate is still rising faster than expected. Most Republicans and even some Democrats are now balking on passing the Cap and Trade bill. He has lost his "green jobs" czar, Van Jones, due to the exposure of Jone's scurrilous past. Closer to Obama's heart, the community organizing group, ACORN, has been hit with more scandals and the Administration has been forced to back off from using them for the 2010 Census. The House of Representatives has voted to cut off all funds to the group. The Senate just voted to bar them from any further HUD funding.

Afghanistan is eroding fast. The six party talks with North Korea are now in the dumpster and the U.S. will have to go it alone. Iran is now ever closer to nukes and it has also been exposed that they are supplying IED's, rockets, and other munitions to the Taliban who are fighting our military in Afghanistan. The Israel/Palestine situation is on the rocks with Israel ignoring Obama's calls to stop the settlements and because Obama hasn't made similar calls for Hamas to stop the rocket fire into Israel.

China may be on the brink of a trade war as a result of last weekend's decision by Obama to impose tariffs on Chinese auto tires coming into this country. If China is annoyed enough, we may have no one left in this world who will buy all the debt that Obama keeps accumulating. That could be very inflationary.

Then, just this week, Obama may have shoved the countries of Eastern Europe to the corner with his decision to abandon the missile shield program. Russia may have also seen this move as a gesture of weakness --- not of strength.

Finally, Gitmo is looking harder and harder to close in the one year time frame that was imposed by this President. Card Check appears to be going nowhere.

Other than a few executive orders, the passage of a questionable Stimulus Package, and his Supreme Court nominee, not much else on Obama's list of campaign promises has gotten passed into law.

Just like the Chicago Cubs, it might be the followers of Obama who will be lamenting with the "wait until next year" chant when this year is finally behind us. But, in Presidential politics, the first year of any administration can wind up determining whether or not he is literally a one-term flop or not. Right now, there are a lot of opinion pieces being written that are drawing direct comparisons to Jimmy Carter's failed Presidency and to how Obama is progressing. One article actually compared Obama to Carter by asking if he was actually Jimmy Carter on steroids. I would think that Obama's handlers might be a little nervous about now.

I should point out that the Chicago Cubs are now in second place in their Division. However, they are 10 games out and it looks to be another year of hopes being dashed for these "North Siders" and any World Series dreams. It has been 98 years since this team went to the series. Some blame it on the famous "Billy Goat" curse. Others think it just has to with not committing the dollars to winning. HBO will even air a special on the topic this month. The special show carries the appropriate title: Wait 'Til Next Year: The Saga of the Chicago Cubs"