Still On a Campaign Mode

I hope these things are just coincidental. But I have been noticing that in areas where the current Administration is weak, like the economy, its officials are quick to condemn the Bush Administration (which, to be fair, had its share of bad decisions that had contributed to our current economic woes). But in areas where the Administration thinks it is gaining ground, like the Iraq war, it is quick to claim credit, regardless of what the Bush Administration has done early on during the war, especially in 2006 when Iraq was slipping into a quagmire, amidst a spiraling ethnic-driven civil war.

Indeed, the Obama economic team is on the defensive these days, in light of disappointing news about the country’s economic recovery this summer, which, according to this WSJ article, is a result of current bad economic policies. Their line of defense hinges on blaming the economic mess they believed they inherited from the previous Administration. In today’s CNN interview, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development said that at the onset they did everything they could to address the housing crisis that was at the core of the financial crisis, with good results, but did add that the economic recovery is now being slowed down by a new challenge that has cropped up since, namely, unemployment. However, the job problem is now on their watch. It was a problem pleading attention as early as middle of last year. But instead of focusing on how to bolster the job market, the Administration spent a significant amount of its political capital persuading Congress to pass a health care legislation.

Come Tuesday, when US troops are scheduled to leave Iraq, I anticipate that the Obama speech will take credit for and claim victory over the Iraq war.

While governing involves being wise and decisive in decision-making, it also entails being responsible for the consequences of its decisions, of owning things up, be they good or bad. It is giving credit where credit is due and admitting mistakes if mistakes are made. If a regime makes decisions based on what is politically expedient, it is not governing. It is campaigning for that political power to remain in its hands.