(Michael Goodwin- Dailynews).One of President Obama's favorite words is "unsustainable." It also happens to be the perfect description of his standing with the American people.
Polls consistently find he is personally more popular than his major policies. That situation is unsustainable - something has to give. The first law of politics says the two must eventually get in sync.
Bet that Obama's popularity will give. In part that's because, even if he wanted to, he can't undo the big policies the public doesn't like, especially his adding to the deficit and his aggressive push to get government more involved in private industry.
Another reason is that Obama doesn't want to change course and ridicules those who think he should. At a Democratic fund-raiser Thursday, the President reportedly mimicked a robot as he called criticism of his policies "predictable."
His partisan audience yukked it up, but the last laugh may be on Dems who follow their audacious leader too closely. Dem gains in the last two elections came primarily from conservative-leaning districts and some members already are worried about re-election. If the tide turns against Obama, they could be in trouble.
Yet Obama, like George Bush, seems to be digging a foxhole and insisting he is right and the public is wrong. We know how that worked out for Bush and the GOP.
While it's too early to say Obama's honeymoon is over, the public is waking up to the danger of uncontrolled government power and spending. Three separate polls last week had similar findings, and they weren't pretty for the White House.
In the short term, Obama is prevailing with nonstop campaigning. From daily TV speeches to political-style town halls, he is using his best weapons - his charisma and the power of the office. It's have TelePrompTer, will travel.
But facts, such as rising unemployment, are stubborn things and Obama's long-term problem is that he is giving only lip service to public doubts. He says he wants government to have a "light touch," yet every move is heavy-handed.
He says the deficit keeps him awake at night, yet he spends his daytime hours adding to it, most recently with a health bill that would cost at least $1 trillion over 10 years.
Obama dares call this reform and says it will save money. Wisely, the public doesn't believe him. And just wait till voters get the bill for his carbon tax.
Even Congress is getting rebellious. The health bill is proving too expensive for some liberals who clamored for it and Obama's overhaul of financial services was met mostly with skepticism.
The most dramatic rebuke came when both the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to condemn Tehran’s crackdown on courageous demonstrators protesting the election. The bold, bipartisan statement stands in contrast to Obama's comments, which grew more forceful yesterday but still fall short of what is needed from the leader of the free world.
He is guilty of looking weak and indecisive while a democracy revolution unfolds in a dangerous Muslim nation.
That's not where an American President should be at this historic moment.
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